< 


. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Malt  one  VI.  Graham 


THE  OPEN   POLAR  SEA 


NARRATIVE  OF  A  VOYAGE  OF  DISCOVERY 
TOWARDS   THE  NORTH   POLE, 


SCHOONER  "UNITED   STATES." 


BT 

ISAAC   I.   HAYES,   M.  D., 

COMMANDER  OP  THE  EXPEDITION. 


POPULAR  EDITION.   ILLUSTRATED. 


NEW  YORK: 

R.  WORTHINGTON,  PUBLISHER, 

770  BROADWAY. 


bio 
ISbO 


I  HAD  INTENDED   TO  DEDICATE   THIS  BOOK  TO 
WILLIAM  P4RKER    FOULKE, 

Of  Philadelphia, 

To  whom  1  am  indebted 

for  all  that  a  powerful  intellect  and 

a  generous  friendship  could  do,  to  give  practical 

shape  to  my  plans^  and  to  insure  success  to  an  enterprise 

in  which  I  had  embarked^  with  the  simple  advantage  of  an  aim9 

and  with  no  better  guide  than  the  impulse  of  youth  :  but 

since  it  is  denied  me  to  pay  that  tribute  of  my 

admiration  to  one  of  the  noblest  of 

I  now  inscribe  it  to  his 

MLMO&r. 


PREFACE. 


THE  interest  which  has  been  freshly  awakened  in 
the  progress  of  Arctic  discovery  by  the  recent  German 
and  Swedish  expeditions  towards  the  North  Pole, 
has  appeared  to  justify  my  experienced  publishers  in 
issuing  a  new  edition  of  this  work,  about  which  it 
may  not  be  inappropriate  to  observe  here,  as  in  the 
preface  to  the  former  edition,  that,  rather  than  con- 
fine myself  strictly  to  a  record  of  scientific  investi- 
gations, I  have  aimed,  so  far  as  the  narrative  would 
allow,  to  bring  before  the  mind  of  the  reader  a 
general  picture  of  the  strange  life  and  sublime 
scenery  of  a  quarter  of  the  world  to  which  we  have 
all  been  drawn,  from  childhood,  by  the  ever  powerful 
charm  of  the  mysterious  and  unknown. 

If  my  publishers  prove  to  be  right  in  their  estimate 
of  public  feeling,  I  shall  accept  it  as  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  the  time  is  ripe  for  the  renewal  of  my 
proposal  to  continue  the  exploration  on  the  American 
side  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  beyond  the  point  where  this 
narrative  leaves  it. 

NEW  YORK.  January,  1869. 


132G7U 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGB 

1.  BEAR  HUNTING Frontispiece. 

2.  MAP  OF  SMITH  SOUND,  showing  Dr.  Hayes's  track  and  discoveries    .  1 

3.  A  GREENLAND  FAMILY 34 

4.  AN  ARCTIC  TEAM 104 

5.  SEAL  HUNTING         .                112 

6.  A  BEAR  HUNT        .                        .  • 174 

7.  CROSSING  THE  HUiMMOC&S 328 

8.  THE  SHORES  OF  THE  POLAR  SEA 350 

9.  A  WALRUS  HUNT 408 

10.  TYNDALL  GLACIER,  WHALE  SOUND     ....  438 


EXPLANATION  OF   TAIL-PIECES. 


Draum  on  wood  by  G.  G.  While  from.  Photographs  and  Sketches  by  Dr.  Hayes*     En- 
graved mostly  by  J.  A.  Bogert. 

PAOK 

1.  ANCHOR 15 

2.  ARCHED  ICEBERG 27 

3.  GREENLANDER  IN  HIS  KAYAK 34 

4.  UPERNAVIK : 43 

5.  SNOWFLAKE  (magnified  three  diameters) 56 

6.  SEAL  ON  CAKE  OF  ICE 67 

7.  HEAD  OF  A  REINDEER 91 

8.  PORT  FOULKE . 100 

9.  SNOWFLAKE  (same  as  No.  5) 126 

10.  CHESTER  VALLEY,  SHOWING  ALIDA  LAKE  AND  THE  GLACIER 136 

11.  "  MY  BROTHER  JOHN'S  GLACIER,"  FROM  FIRST  CAMP 148 

12.  GROUP  OF  REINDEER 164 

13.  SCHOONER  IN  WINTEK  QUARTERS 211 

14.  THE  ESQUIMAU  HUT  AT  ETAH 235 

15.  HEAD  OF  WALRUS 247 

16.  PORTRAIT  OF  BIRDIE,  THE  ARTIC  Fox 250 

17.  SONNTAG'S  GRAVE 276 

18.  SNOWFLAKE  (same  as  No.  5) 296 

19.  CAMPING  IN  A  SNOW-BANK 306 

20.  POLAR  BEAR 314 

21.  DOG  SLEDGE 321 

22.  HEAD  OF  THE  ESQUIMAU  DOG  OOSISOAK 332 

23.  CAPE  UNION 352 

24.  A  SKETCH 362 

25.  OBSERVATORY  AT  PORT  FOULKE 375 

26.  SNOWFLAKE  (same  as  No.  5) 380 

27.  KALUTUNAH  AND  HIS  FAMILY 395 

28.  HEAD  OF  ARCTIC  HAKE 425 

29.  A  SKETCH 438 

30.  "END"..  ,..».... 454 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAOl 

Plan  of  the  Expedition.  —  First  Announcement.  —  Appeal  to  Scien- 
tific Societies.  —  Aid  solicited.  —  Public  Lectures.  —  Liberality  of 
various  Societies  and  Individuals.  —  Vessel  purchased  in  Boston.  — 
Interest  manifested  in  that  City.  —  Difficulty  in  obtaining  a  proper 
Crew.  —  Organization  of  the  Party.  —  Scientific  Outfit.  —  Abun- 
dant Supplies 1 

CHAPTER  I. 

Leaving  Boston.  —  At  Anchor  in  Nantasket  Roads.  —  At  Sea 13 

CHAPTER  II. 

Passage  to  the  Greenland  Coast.  —  Discipline.  —  The  Decks  at  Sea. 
—  Our  Quarters.  —  The  First  Iceberg.  —  Crossing  the  Arctic  Cir- 
cle. —  The  Midnight  Sun.  —  The  Endless  Day.  —  Making  the 
Land.  —  A  Remarkable  Scene  among  the  Bergs.  —  At  Anchor  in 
Proven  Harbor 16 

CHAPTER  IH. 

The  Colony  of  Proven.  —  The  Kayak  of  the  Greenlander.  —  Scarcity 
of  Dogs.  —  Liberality  of  the  Chief  Trader.  —  Arctic  Flora 28 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Upernavik.  —  Hospitality  of  the  Inhabitants.  —  Death  and  Burial  of 
Gibson  Caruthers.  —  A  Lunch  on  Board.  —  Adieu 35 

CHAPTER  V. 

Among  the  Icebergs.  —  Dangers  of  Arctic  Navigation.  —  A  Narrow 
Escape  from  a  Crumbling  Berg.  —  Measurement  of  an  Iceberg  ....  44 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Entering  Melville  Bay.  — The  Middle  Ice.  —  The  Great  Polar  Cur- 
rent.—  A  Snow-Storm. — Encounter  with  an  Iceberg.  —  Making 
Cape  York.  —  Rescue  of  Hans 57 


XX  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VH. 

PAQl 

Hans  and  his  Family.  —  Petowak  Glacier.  —  A  Snow-Storm.  —  The 
Ice-Pack.  —  Entering  Smith  Sound.  —  A  Severe  Gale.  —  Collision 
with  Icebergs.  —  Encounter  with  the  Ice-Fields.  —  Retreat  from  the 
Pack.  —  At  Anchor  in  Hartstene  Bay.  —  Entering  Winter  Quar- 
ters ....'.  ................................................  68 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Our  Winter  Harbor.  —  Preparing  for  Winter.  —  Organization  of  Du- 
ties. —  Scientific  Work.  —  The  Observatory.  —  Schooner  Driven 
Ashore.  —  The  Hunters.  —  Sawing  a  Dock.  —  Frozen  up.  —  Sun- 
set .......................................................  92 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Sunset.  —  Winter  Work.  —  My  Dog-Teams.  —  "  My  Brother  John's 
Glacier."  —  Hunting.  —  Peat  Beds.  —  Esquimau  Graves.  —  Putre- 
faction at  Low  Temperatures.  —  Sonntag  climbs  the  Glacier.  — 
Hans  and  Peter.  —  My  Esquimau  People.  —  The  Esquimau  Dog. 

—  Surveying  the  Glacier.  —  The    Sailing-Master.  —  His  Birthday 
Dinner  ....................................................   101 

CHAPTER  X. 

Journey  on  the  Glacier.  —  The  First  Camp.  —  Scaling  the  Glacier.  — 
Character  of  its  Surface.  —  The  Ascent.  —  Driven  back  by  a  Gale. 

—  Low  Temperature.  —  Dangerous   Situation  of  the  Party.  —  A 
Moonlight  Scene  ...........................................   127 

CHAPTER  XL 

Important  Results  of  the  recent  Journey.  —  The  Glacier  System  of 
Greenland.  —  General  Discussion  of  the  Subject.  —  Illustrations 
drawn  from  the  Alpine  Glaciers.  —  Glacier  Movement.  —  Outline 
of  the  Greenland  Mer  de  Glace  ..............................  137 

CHAPTER  XII. 

My  Cabin.  —  Surveying.  —  Castor  and  Pollux.  —  Concerning  Scurvy. 

—  Dangers  of  eating  Cold  Snow.  —  Knorr  and  Starr.  —  Frost-Bites. 

—  Hans,  Peter,  and  Jacob  again.  —  Coal  Account.  —  Th,e  Fires.  — 
Comfort  of  our  Quarters.  —  The  House  on  Deck.  —  Mild  Weather. 

—  Jensen.  —  Mrs.  Hans.  —  John  Williams,  the  Cook.  —  A  Cheer- 

ful Evening  ..............................................     14S 


CHAPTER 

Increasing  Darkness.  —  Daily  Routine.  —  The  Journal.  —  Our  Home. 
—  Sunday.  —  Return  of  Sonntag.  —  A  Bear-Hunt.  —  The  Open 
Water.  —  Accident  to  Mr.  Knorr.  —  A  Thaw.  —  "  The  Port  Foulke 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

PAOK 

Weekly  News."  —  The  Tide-Register.  —  The   Fire-Hole.  —  Hunt- 
ing Foxes.  —  Peter 165 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Midwinter.  —  The  Night  of  Months.  —  Brilliancy  of  the  Moonlight. 

—  Mild  Temperatures.  —  Remarkable  Weather.  —  A  Shower.  — 
Depth  of  Snow.  —  Snow  Crystals.  —  An  Epidemic  among  the  Dogs. 

—  Symptoms  of  the  Disorder.  —  Great  Mortality.  —  Only  one  Team 
left.  —  New  Plans.  —  Schemes  for  reaching  the  Esquimaux  in  WhaJe 
Sound 192 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Arctic  Midnight.  —  Sonntag  starts  for  Whale  Sound.  —  Effects 
of  Darkness  on  the  Spirits.  —  Routine  of  Duties.  —  Christmas  Eve. 

—  Christmas  Day.  —  The  Christmas  Dinner 200 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  New  Year.  —  Looking  for  Sonntag.  —  The  Aurora  Borealis.  — 
A  Remarkable  Display.  —  Depth  of  Snow.  —  Strange  Mildness  of 
the  Weather.  —  The  Open  Sea.  —  Evaporation  at  Low  Tempera- 
tures. —  Looking  for  the  Twilight. —  My  Pet  Fox. 212 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Arctic  Night 222 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Prolonged  Absence  of  Mr.  Sonntag.  —  Preparing  to  look  for  him.  — 
Arrival  of  Esquimaux.  —  They  report  Sonntag  dead.  —  Arrival  of 
Hans.  —  Condition  of  the  Dogs.  —  Hans's  Story  of  the  Journey. . .  227 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Sonntag.  —  Twilight  increasing.  —  A  Deer-Hunt.  —  The  Arctic  Foxes. 

—  The  Polar  Bear.  —  Adventures  with  Bears.  —  Our  New  Esqui- 
maux. —  Esquimau   Dress.  —  A  Snow  House.  —  Esquimau  Imple- 
ments. —  A  Walrus  Hunt 236 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Looking  for  the  Sun.  — -  The  Open  Sea.  —  Birds ! . . .  248 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Sunrise 251 

CHAPTER  XXH. 

Spring  Twilight.  —  Arrival  of  Esquimaux.  —  Obtaining  Dogs.  —  Kal- 
utunah,  Tattarat,  Myouk,  Amalatok  and  his  Son.  —  An  Arctic 
Hospital.  —  Esquimau  Gratitude 255 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XXIII. 


PAOl 


Kalutunali  returns.  —  An  Esquimau  Family.  —  The  Family  Prop- 
erty. —  The  Family  Wardrobe.  —  Myouk  and  his  Wife.  —  Peter's 
Dead  Body  found.  —  My  New  Teams.  —  The  Situation.  —  Hunt- 
ing. —  Subsistence  of  Arctic  Animals.  —  Pursuit  of  Science  under 
Difficulties.  —  Kalutunah  at  Home.  —  An  Esquimau  Feast.  —  Kalu- 
tunah  in  Service.  —  Recovering  the  Body  of  Mr.  Sonntag. — The 
Funeral.  —  The  Tomb 265 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Starting  on  my  First  Journey.  —  Object  of  the  Journey.  —  A  Mishap. 
—  A  Fresh  Start.  —  The  First  Camp.  —  Hartstene's  Cairn.  —  Ex- 
ploring a  Track.  —  A  New  Style  of  Snow-Hut.  —  An  Uncomfort- 
able Night.  —  Low  Temperature.  —  Effect  of  Temperature  on  the 
Snow.  —  Among  the  Hummocks.  —  Sighting  Humboldt  Glacier.  — 
The  Track  impracticable  to  the  Main  Party.  —  Van  Rensselaer 
Harbor.  —  Fate  of  the  Advance.  —  A  Drive  in- a  Gale 277 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Sending  forward  Supplies.  —  Kalutunah  as  a  Driver.  —  Kalutunah 
civilized.  —  Mr.  Knorr.  —  Plan  of  my  Proposed  Journey.  —  Prepar- 
ing to  set  out. —  Industrious  Esquimau  Women. —  Death  and  Bu- 
rial of  Kablunet.  —  The  Start 290 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  First  Day's  Journey.  —  A  Fall  of  Temperature.  —  Its  Effect 
upon  the  Men.  —  Camped  in  a  Snow-Hut.  —  The  Second  Day's 
Journey.  —  At  Cairn  Point.  —  Character  of  the  Ice.  —  The  Pros- 
pect —  Storm-stayed.  —  The  Cooks  in  Difficulty.  —  Snow-Drift.  — 
Violence  of  the  Gale.  —  Our  Snow-Hut 297 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The  Storm  continues.  — -  At  Work.  —  Among  the  Hummocks.  —  Diffi- 
culties of  the  Track.  —  The  Snow-Drifts.  —  Slow  Progress.  —  The 
Smith  Sound  Ice.  —  Formation  of  the  Hummocks.  —  The  Old  Ice- 
Fields.  —  Growth  of  Ice-Fields.  —  Thickness  of  Ice.  —  The  Pros- 
pect 307 

* 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

The  Difficulties  multiplying.  —  Sledge  broken.  —  Reflections  on  the 
Prospect.  —  The  Men  breaking  down.  —  Worse  and  Worse.  —  The 
Situation.  —  Defeat  r>f  Main  Party.  —  Resolve  to  send  the  Party 
back  and  continue  the  Journey  with  Dogs 81f 


CONTENTS.  Xxili 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

MM 

T!ie  Main  Party  sent  back.  —  Plunging  into  the  Hummocks  again.  — 
Advantages  of  Dogs.  —  Camp  in  an  Ice-Cave.  — Nursing  the  Dogs. 

—  Snow-Blindness.  —  A  Chapter  of  Accidents. —  Cape  Hawks. — 
Cape  Napoleon.  —  Storm-stayed.  —  Grinnell  Land  looming  up.  — 
Discovering  a  Sound.  —  Ravenous  Disposition  of  Dogs.  —  A  Cheer- 
less Supper.  —  Camping  in  the  Open  Air.  —  Prostration  of  Men 
and  Dogs.  —  Making  the  Land  at  last 322 

CHAPTER   XXX. 

The  Prospect  Ahead.  —  To  Cape  Napoleon.  —  To  Cape  Frazer.  — 
Traces  of  Esquimaux.  —  Rotten  Ice.  —  Kennedy  Channel.  —  Mild- 
ness of  Temperature.  —  Appearance  of  Birds.  —  Geological  Feat- 
ures of  Coast.  —  Vegetation.  —  Accident  to  Jensen 333 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

A  New  Start.  —  Speculations.  —  In  a  Fog.  —  Polar  Scenery.  — 
Stopped  by  Rotten  Ice.  —  Looking  Ahead.  —  Conclusions.  —  The 
Open  Sea.  —  Climax  of  the  Journey.  —  Returning  South 343 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  Open  Polar  Sea.  —  Width  of  the  Polar  Basin.  —  Boundaries  of 
the  Polar  Basin.  —  Polar  Currents.  —  Polar  Ice.  —  The  Ice-Belt.  — 
Arctic  Navigation  and  Discovery.  —  The  Russian  Sledge  Explora- 
tions.—  Wrangel'a  Open  Sea.  —  Parry's  Boat  Expedition. —  Dr. 
Kane's  Discoveries. — Expansion  of  Smith  Sound.  —  General  Con- 
clusions drawn  from  my  own  Discoveries  and  those  of  my  Prede- 
cessors    353 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

On  Board  the  Schooner.  —  Review  of  the  Journey.  —  The  Return 
down  Kennedy  Channel. —  A  Severe  March  in  a  Snow-Storm. — 
Rotten  Ice.  —  Effects  of  a  Gale.  —  Returning  through  the  Hum- 
mocks. —  The  Dogs  breaking  down.  —  Adrift  on  a  Floe  at  Cairn 
Point.  —  The  Open  "Water  compels  us  to  take  to  the  Land.  — 
Reaching  the  Schooner.  —  Projecting  a  Chart.  —  The  New  Sound. 

—  My  Northern  Discoveries 363 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Inspection  of  the  Schooner. — Method  of  Repairing.  —  The  Serious 
Nature  of  the  Injury.  —  The  Schooner  unfit  for  any  further  Ice- 
Encounters. —  Examination  of  my  Resources.  —  Plans  for  the  Fu- 
ture ..  .....  .376 


Xxiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

MM 

The  Arctic  Spring.  —  Snow  disappearing.  —  Plants  show  Signs  of 
Life.  —  Return  of  the  Birds.  —  Change  in  the  Sea.  —  Refitting  the 
Schooner.  —  The  Esquimaux.  —  Visit  to  Kalutunah.  —  Kalutunah's 
Account  of  the  Esquimau  Traditions.  —  Hunting-Grounds  contract- 
ed by  the  Accumulation  of  Ice.  —  Hardships  of  their  Life.  —  Their 
Subsistence.  —  The  Race  dwindling  away.  —  Visit  to  the  Glacier. 

—  Re-survey  of  the    Glacier.  —  Kalutunah   catching   Birds.  —  A 
Snow-Storm  and  a  Gale.  —  The  Mid-day  of  the  Arctic  Summer  ...  381 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

The  Arctic  Summer.  —  The  Flora.  —  The  Ice  dissolving.  —  A  Sum- 
mer Storm  of  Rain,  Hail,  and  Snow.  —  The  Terraces.  —  Ice  Action. 

—  Upheaval  of  the  Coast.  —  Geological  Interest  of  Icebergs  and 
the  Land-Ice.  —  A  Walrus  Hunt.  —  The  "  Fourth."  —  Visit  to  Lit- 
tleton Island.  —  Great  Numbers  of  Eider-Ducks  and  Gulls.  —  The 
Ice  breaking  up.  —  Critical  Situation  of  the  Schooner.  —  Taking 
Leave  of  the  Esquimaux.  —  Adieu  to  Port  Foulke 396 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Leaving  Port  Foulke.  —  Effort  to  reach  Cape  Isabella.  —  Meet  the 
Pack  and  take  Shelter  at  Littleton  Island.  —  Hunting.  —  Abun- 
dance of  Birds  and  Walrus.  —  Visit  to  Cairn  Point.  —  Reaching 
the  West  Coast.  —  View  from  Cape  Isabella.  —  Plans  for  the  Fu- 
ture. —  Our  Results.  —  Chances  of  reaching  the  Polar  Sea  dis- 
cussed. —  The  Glaciers  of  Ellesmere  Land 416 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Leaving  Smith  Sound.  —  Crossing  the  North  Water.  —  Meeting  the 
Pack.  —  The  Sea  and  Air  teeming  with  Life.  —  Remarkable  Re- 
fraction. —  Reaching  Whale  Sound.  —  Surveying  in  a  Boat.  —  The 
Sound  traced  to  its  Termination.  —  Meeting  Esquimaux  at  Iteplik. 

—  Habits  of  the  Esquimaux.  —  Marriage  Ceremony.  —  The  Decay 

of  the  Tribe.  —  View  of  Barden  Bay.  —  Tyndall  Glacier  .  .    426 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Homeward  Bound.  —  Entering  Melville  Bay.  —  Encounter  with  a 
Bear.  —  Meeting  the  Pack.  —  Making  the  "  South  Water.  "  — 
Reaching  Upernavik.  —  The  News.  —  To  Goodhaven.  —  Liberality 
of  the  Danish  Government  and  the  Greenland  Officials.  —  Driven 
out  of  Baffin  Bay  by  a  Gale.  —  Crippled  by  the  Storm  and  forced 
to  take  Shelter  in  Halifax.  —  Hospitable  Reception.  —  Arrival  in 
Boston.  —  Realize  the  State  of  the  Country.  —  The  Determina- 
tion. —  Conclusion .  439 


SMITff  SOUND 

Showing 


INTRODUCTION. 

PLAN  OF  THE  EXPEDITION.  —  FIRST  ANNOUNCEMENT.  —  APPEAL  TO  SCIENTIFIC 
SOCIETIES.  —  AID  SOLICITED.  —  PUBLIC  LECTURES.  —  LIBERALITY  OF  VARI- 
OUS SOCIETIES  AND  INDIVIDUALS.  —  VESSEL  PURCHASED  IN  BOSTON. —  IN- 
TEREST MANIFESTED  IN  THAT  CITY.  — DIFFICULTY  IN  OBTAINING  A  PROPER 
CREW.— ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PARTY.  —  SCIENTIFIC  OUTFIT.  —  ABUNDANT 
SUPPLIES. 

I  PURPOSE  to  record  in  this  Book  the  events  of  the 
Expedition  which  I  conducted  to  the  Arctic  Seas. 

The  plan  of  the  enterprise  first  suggested  itself  to 
me  while  acting  as  Surgeon  of  the  Expedition  com- 
manded by  the  late  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane,  of  the  United 
States  Navy.  Although  its  execution  did  not  appear 
feasible  at  the  period  of  my  return  from  that  voyage 
in  October,  1855,  yet  I  did  not  at  any  time  abandon 
the  design.  It  comprehended  an  extensive  scheme 
of  discovery.  The  proposed  route  was  that  by  Smith's 
Sound.  My  object  was  to  complete  the  survey  of  the 
north  coasts  of  Greenland  and  Grinnell  Land,  and  to 
make  such  explorations  as  I  might  find  practicable  in 
the  direction  of  the  North  Pole. 

My  proposed  base  of  operations  was  Grinnell  Land, 
which  I  had  discovered  on  my  former  voyage,  and  had 
personally  traced  beyond  lat.  80°,  far  enough  to  sat- 
isfy me  that  it  was  available  for  my  design. 

Accepting  the  deductions  of  many  learned  physi- 
cists that  the  sea  about  the  North  Pole  cannot  be 
frozen,  that  an  open  area  of  varying  extent  must  be 
found  within  the  Ice-belt  which  is  known  to  invest  it, 
I  desired  to  add  to  the  proofs  which  had  already  been 


2  PLAN  OF   THE  EXPEDITION. 

accumulated  by  the  early  Dutch  and  English  voy- 
agers, and,  more  recently,  by  the  researches  of  Scores- 
by,  Wrangel,  and  Parry,  and  still  later  by  Dr.  Kane's 
expedition. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  great  difficulty  which 
has  been  encountered,  in  the  various  attempts  that 
have  been  made  to  solve  this  important  physical 
problem,  has  been  the  inability  of  the  explorer  to 
penetrate  the  Ice-belt  with  his  ship,  or  to  travel  over 
it  with  sledges  sufficiently  far  to  obtain  indisputable 
proof.  My  former  experience  led  me  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  chances  of  success  were  greater  by  Smith's 
Sound  than  by  any  other  routej  and  my  hopes  of  suc- 
cess were  based  upon  the  expectation  which  I  enter- 
tained of  being  able  to  push  a  vessel  into  the  Ice-belt, 
to  about  the  80th  parallel  of  latitude,  and  thence  to 
transport  a  boat  over  the  ice  to  the  open  sea  which 
I  hoped  to  find  beyond.  Reaching  this  open  sea,  if 
such  fortune  awaited  me,  I  proposed  to  launch  my 
boat  and  to  push  off  northward.  For  the  ice-transpor- 
tation I  expected  to  rely,  mainly,  upon  the  dog  of  the 
Esquimaux. 

How  far  I  was  able  to  execute  my  design  these 
pages  will  show. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  highest  point 
reached  by  Dr.  Kane  with  his  vessels  was  Van  Rens- 
selaer  Harbor,  latitude  78°  37',  where  he  wintered. 
This  was  on  the  eastern  side  of  Smith's  Sound.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  a  more  favorable  position  could 
be  attained  on  the  western  side ;  and  from  personal 
observations  made  in  1854,  while  on  a  sledge  jour- 
ney from  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor,  it  appeared  to  me 
probable  that  the  degree  of  latitude  already  indicated 
might  be  secured  for  a  winter  station  and  a  centre  of 
observation. 


ANTICIPATED   RESULTS.  3 

It  would  be  needless  for  me  to  attempt  to  illustrate 
the  value  of  such  a  centre  for  the  purpose  of  scientific 
inquiry.  It  was  not  alone  the  prospect  of  the  satis- 
faction to  be  achieved  by  completing  our  geographi- 
cal knowledge  of  that  portion  of  the  globe,  nor  that 
of  solving  definitely  the  problem  of  an  Open  Polar 
Sea,  that  encouraged  me  in  the  task  which  I  had 
undertaken.  There  were  many  questions  of  physical 
science  to  be  settled,  and  I  hoped  to  take  with  me  a 
corps  of  well-instructed  observers.  The  movements 
of  the  currents  of  the  air  and  water,  the  temperature 
of  these  elements,  the  pressure  of  the  former  and  the 
tides  of  the  latter,  the  variations  of  gravity,  the  direc- 
tion and  intensity  of  the  "magnetic  force,"  the  Au- 
rora Borealis,  the  formation  and  movement  of  the 
glaciers,  and  many  important  features  of  Natural  His- 
tory remained  to  be  solved  by  observations  about  the 
centre  indicated.  Years  of  profitable  labor  might  in- 
deed be  expended  in  that  locality  by  an  enterprising 
force  of  skilled  workers. 

With  these  objects  in  view,  I  applied  with  great 
confidence  to  the  scientific  men  of  the  world  and 
to  the  enlightened  public  sentiment  of  my  country- 
men. 

The  response,  although  in  the  end  highly  gratify- 
ing, was  more  tardy  in  its  coming  than  had  been  at 
first  anticipated.  There  were  indeed  many  circum- 
stances of  discouragement,  not  the  least  of  which  was 
an  impression  which  then  had  possession  of  the  public 
judgment,  that  any  further  efforts  toward  the  North 
Pole  must  be  fruitless,  and  must  involve  an  unjusti- 
fiable loss  of  life.  It  was  only  after  many  endeavors 
that  here  and  there  the  influences  favorable  to  the 
design  began  to  affect  the  community.  The  most  im- 


4  FIRST  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

portant  ol  these  was,  of  course,  the  sanction  given  to 
the  project  by  those  associations  whose  opinions  gov- 
ern the  mass  of  men  in  relation  to  scientific  matters. 

The  first  public  announcement  of  it  was  made  to 
the  American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society, 
before  which  body  I  read  a  paper  in  December,  1857, 
setting  forth  the  plan,  and  the  means  proposed  for  its 
accomplishment.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  I  first 
experienced  the  discouragement  to  which  I  have  al- 
ready referred,  and  it  became  evident  to  all  who  had 
thus  far  interested  themselves  in  the  subject,  that  it 
would  be  necessary  to  instruct  the  public  mind  in 
relation  to  the  practicability  of  the  proposed  explora- 
tion, and  its  comparative  freedom  from  danger,  before 
any  earnest  support  could  be  anticipated. 

To  this  task  I  at  once  addressed  myself,  although, 
indeed,  I  might  with  some  show  of  reason  have  aban- 
doned the  undertaking  altogether ;  but  at  twenty-five 
one  is  not  easily  discouraged.  In  concert  with  the 
friends  of  the  enterprise,  I  caused  it  to  be  understood 
that  I  was  open  to  invitations  from  any  of  the  numer- 
ous literary  societies  and  clubs  who  were  organizing 
popular  courses  of  lectures  for  the  winter.  Such  lec- 
tures were  at  that  time  quite  the  fashion,  and  almost 
every  little  town  in  the  country  could  boast  of  its 
"course."  The  invitations  which  reached  me  were 
very  numerous,  and  I  availed  myself  of  them  to  the 
full  limit  of  my  time.  The  scientific  and  literary  jour- 
nals and  the  press,  ever  ready  to  aid  in  the  advance- 
ment of  liberal  and  enlightened  purposes,  gave  very 
cordial  support;  and,  when  the  spring  of  1858  opened, 
we  had  the  satisfaction  to  perceive  that  we  had  dis- 
pelled some  of  the  popular  illusions  respecting  the 
dangers  of  Arctic  exploration.  Among  the  most  im« 


SCIENTIFIC  INTEREST.  5 

portant  of  the  lectures  given  at  this  period  was  a 
course  which  I  delivered  at  the  instance  of  Professor 
Joseph  Henry,  in  the  fine  lecture-room  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  at  Washington.  These  lectures  were 
the  more  important,  in  that  they  secured  to  the  un- 
dertaking the  friendship  and  support  of  Professor 
A.  D.  Bache,  the  learned  and  efficient  chief  of  the 
United  States  Coast  Survey. 

In  April,  1858,  I  brought  the  subject  before  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Sci- 
ence, at  its  annual  meeting  held  in  Baltimore ;  and 
that  body  of  representative  men,  at  the  suggestion 
of  Professor  Bache,  appointed  sixteen  of  its  leading 
members  a  committee  on  "Arctic  Exploration." 

It  remained  now  only  to  secure  the  necessary  ma- 
terial aid.  With  this  object  in  view,  committees  were 
promptly  appointed  by  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  American  Geographical  Society,  the  Lyceum 
of  Natural  History  of  New  York,  the  American  Acad- 
emy of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  the  Boston  Society  of 
Natural  History. 

Subscription  lists  were  at  once  opened  by  these  sev- 
eral committees,  and  Professor  Bache,  at  all  times  fore- 
most to  promote  scientific  discovery,  headed  the  list 
with  his  powerful  name. 

The  learned  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, Professor  Joseph  Henry,  further  strengthened  the 
cause  by  the  proffer  of  scientific  instruments,  and  this 
was  followed  by  the  earnest  support  of  Mr.  Henry 
Grinnell,  whose  zealous  efforts  and  sacrifices  in  behalf 
of  Arctic  exploration  are  too  well  known  to  gain  any 
thing  from  my  commendation. 

At  a  subsequent  period  I  addressed  the  Chamber 


6  PUBLIC    LECTURES. 

of  Commerce  in  New  York,  and  the  Board  of  Trade 
in  Philadelphia.  The  latter  promptly  appointed  a 
committee  with  the  same  objects  as  those  previously 
appointed  by  the  scientific  societies.  Still  later  I 
spoke  to  a  large  audience  in  the  lecture-room  of  the 
Lowell  Institute,  Boston,  assembled  under  the  auspices 
of  the  committee  of  the  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sci- 
ences, on  which  occasion,  after  eloquent  addresses  by 
the  chairman,  the  late  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  and  Pro- 
fessors Agassiz  and  W.  B.  Rogers,  a  committee  of  cit- 
izens was  appointed  to  cooperate  with  the  committees 
already  named. 

The  system  of  public  lecturing  which  had  been 
improved  with  such  satisfactory  advantage  in  the 
beginning,  was  continued,  and,  in  addition  to  the 
increased  public  interest  which  the  lectures  created, 
they  proved  a  source  of  more  substantial  benefit. 
Two  of  them  were  delivered  under  the  auspices  of 
the  American  Geographical  Society.  The  value  of 
these  last  was  derived  from  the  circumstance  that 
public  support  was  given  to  the  project  by  Dr.  Francis 
Lieber,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Bethune,  Rev.  J.  P.  Thomp- 
.son,  the  late  Professor  (afterward  Major-General)  0.  M. 
Mitchel,  and  Mr.  (now  Brigadier-General)  Egbert  L. 
Viele.  who  spoke  on  the  occasion.  The  principal  ad- 
dress was  made  by  Dr.  Lieber,  and  it  was  characteristic 
of  that  able  and  learned  writer. 

The  interest  manifested  among  geographers  abroad 
was  scarcely  less  than  that  shown  by  scientific  men  at 
home.  The  eminent  President  of  the  Geographical 
Society  of  London,  Sir  Roderick  Impey  Murchison,  in 
announcing  the  proposed  renewal  of  Arctic  discovery 
to  that  distinguished  body,  expressed  the  earnest  de- 
sire of  the  society  for  the  success  of  the  undertaking ; 


FOREIGN   SUPPORT.  7 

and  the  enlightened  Vice-President  of  the  Geograph- 
ical Society  of  Paris,  M.  de  la  Roquette,  promptly 
offered,  as  an  earnest  of  his  good  will,  a  liberal  contri- 
bution to  the  fund. 

The  Masonic  Fraternity  in  New  York,  Boston,  and 
Philadelphia  also  gave  their  assistance,  and  it  was  not 
the  less  appreciated  that  it  was  spontaneous  and  un- 
expected. 

Notwithstanding  the  unceasing  efforts  which  were 
thus  made  in  every  quarter,  and  the  almost  universal 
interest  which  the  undertaking  at  length  excited,  it 
was  not  until  the  beginning  of  June,  1860,  that  I  was 
able  to  commence  my  preparations.  My  plans  of  ex- 
ploration had  been  based  upon  the  expectation  of 
being  able  to  start  with  two  vessels, — one  a  small 
steamer,  to  be  taken  out  under  sails,  and  the  steam- 
power  only  to  be  used  when  actually  among  the  ice ; 
—  the  other  a  sailing  vessel,  to  be  employed  as  a  ten- 
der or  store-ship. 

It  now  became  evident  to  us  that  if  my  departure 
was  deferred  to  another  year,  the  chances  of  my  sail- 
ing at  all  would  be  diminished  rather  than  increased  ; 
and  we  therefore  determined  to  do  the  best  we  could 
with  the  means  at  hand.  These  means  would  enable 
us  to  fit  out  and  man  only  one  small  sailing  vessel. 

To  Mr.  Richard  feaker,  Jr.,  the  energetic  chairman 
of  the  Boston  Committee,  (aided  by  a  sub-committee 
consisting  of  Mr.  Warren  Sawyer,  Mr.  John  Stetson, 
Mr.  0.  W.  Peabody,  and  Mr.  J.  D.  W.  Joy,)  was  in 
trusted  the  selection  and  purchase  of  such  a  craft 
as  would  best  compromise  between  the  services  to 
be  performed  and  the  state  of  our  finances ;  and  the 
duty  was  accomplished  with  characteristic  sagacity. 
When  I  reached  Boston,  a  few  days  after  the  purchase 


8  VESSEL   PURCHASED. 

had  been  made,  I  found  the  vessel  lying  at  a  wharf, 
heavily  laden  with  a  cargo  brought  from  the  West 
Indies.  She  was  a  strong,  snug,  jaunty  looking  craft, 
and  appeared  to  be  well  adapted  for  the  peculiar 
service  to  which  she  was  destined.  Her  "register" 
quaintly  set  forth  that  she  was  "  A  1,"  that  she  meas- 
ured one  hundred  and  thirty-three  tons  burden,  that 
she  was  a  fore-and-aft  schooner,  drew  eight  feet  of 
water,  and  was  named  Spring  Hill.  For  this  name 
we  at  once  substituted  United  States,  which  change 
was,  upon  my  memorial,  subsequently  confirmed  by 
act  of  Congress. 

The  season  was  now  growing  very  late.  Before 
the  vessel  had  been  purchased  it  was  fully  time  that 
I  should  have  been  upon  my  voyage,  and  every  day's 
delay  added  to  my  anxiety  lest  I  should  be  unable  to 
penetrate  the  Baffin's  Bay  ice,  and  secure  a  harbor 
before  the  winter  had  shut  out  all  access  to  the  land. 
It  was  therefore  with  no  small  degree  of  satisfaction 
that  I  saw  the  schooner  on  the  ways  in  the  ship- 
yard of  Mr.  Kelly  in  East  Boston,  and  the  work  of 
refitting  her  going  rapidly  forward. 

As  a  protection  against  the  wear  and  pressure  of  the 
ice,  a  strong  sheathing  of  two  and  a  half  inch  oak 
planking  was  spiked  to  her  sides,  and  the  bows  were 
cased  with  thick  iron  plates  as  far  aft  as  the  fore- 
chains.  Internally  she  was  strengthened  with  heavy 
beams,  crossing  at  intervals  of  twelve  feet  a  little 
below  the  water-line,  which,  as  well  as  the  deck-tim- 
bers, were  supported  by  additional  knees  and  diagonal 
braces.  For  convenience  of  working  among  the  ice, 
her  rig  was  changed  from  a  fore-and-aft  to  a  foretop- 
sail  schooner. 

Owing  to  many  unavoidable  delays,  the  month  of 


PREPAKATION.  9 

June  had  almost  passed  before  the  schooner  was 
brought  to  the  wharf  in  Boston  to  receive  her  cargo. 
Much  of  this  cargo  was  made  up  of  voluntary  gift 
offerings,  "in  the  cause  of  science,"  and  came  from 
various  places,  and,  as  these  "  offerings  "  arrived  irreg- 
ularly, there  was  naturally  much  confusion  in  the 
storage.  It  will  not  therefore  appear  surprising  that 
our  departure  was  several  days  delayed.  One  month 
was  indeed  a  short  time,  even  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances,  to  fit  a  vessel,  purchase  and  store  a 
complicated  cargo,  construct  and  get  together  sledges, 
boats,  and  other  equipments  for  travelling,  obtain  in- 
struments and  all  the  requisite  materials  for  scientific 
exploration,  —  in  short,  to  accumulate  the  various 
odds  and  ends  necessary  for  so  unusual  and  protracted 
a  voyage.  It  was  a  busy  month,  and  into  no  equal 
period  of  my  life  did  I  ever  crowd  so  much  labor  and 
anxiety. 

The  selection  of  my  ship's  company  gave  me  not 
a  little  concern.  Of  material  from  which  to  choose 
there  was  quite  an  ample  supply.  In  numbers  there 
were  indeed  enough  to  have  fitted  out  a  respectable 
squadron ;  but  it  was  not  easy  to  find  those  whose 
constitutions  and  habits  of  life  fitted  them  for  the 
service.  The  greater  number  of  the  volunteers  had 
never  been  to  sea,  and  most  of  them  were  eager 
"to  serve  in  any  capacity,"  —  a  declaration  which,  too 
often  on  this,  as  on  other  occasions,  I  have  found  to 
signify  the  absence  of  any  capacity  at  all. 

I  esteemed  myself  fortunate  in  securing  the  ser 
vices  of  my  former  companion  and  friend  in  the  Grin- 
nell  Expedition,  Mr.  August  Sonntag,  who  early  volun- 
teered to  join  me  from  Mexico,  in  which  country  he 
was  engaged  in  conducting  some  important  scientific 


10  OFFICERS  AND  CREW. 

explorations.  He  even  proposed  to  me  that  he  should 
abandon  the  work  upon  which  he  was  then  employed, 
in  order  to  aid  me  in  the  preliminary  preparations. 
Returning  to  the  United  States  in  1859,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  Dudley  Observatory,  Albany,  and,  to 
accompany  me,  he  sacrificed  the  fine  position  of  Asso- 
ciate Director  of  that  institution. 

My  party,  when  at  length  completed,  numbered 
fourteen  persons  all  told,  as  follows:  — 

AUGUST  SONNTAG,  Astronomer,  and  second  in  command. 

S.  J.  McCoRMiCK,  Sailing  Master. 

HENRY  W.  DODGE,  Mate. 

HENRY  G.  RADCLIFFE,  Assistant  Astronomer. 

GEORGE  F.  KNORR,  Commander's  Secretary. 

COLLIN  C.  STARR,  Master's  Mate. 

GIBSON  CARUTHERS,  Boatswain  and  Carpenter. 

FRANCIS  L.  HARRIS,  Volunteer. 

HARVEY  HEYWOOD,  Volunteer. 

JOHN  Me  DONALD,  Seaman. 

THOMAS  BARNUM,  Seaman. 

CHARLES  McCoRMiCK,  Seaman. 

WILLIAM  MILLER,  Seaman. 

JOHN  WILLIAMS,  Seaman. 

Our  equipment  for  scientific  observations  was  rea- 
sonably perfect.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  fur- 
nished a  good  supply  of  barometers  and  thermometers, 
besides  other  apparatus  not  less  important,  and  also 
spirits,  cans,  and  other  materials  for  the  collection 
and  preservation  of  specimens  of  Natural  History. 
In  this  latter  department  I  owe  especial  obligations  to 
the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  and 
also  to  the  Cambridge  Museum.  From  the  skilful 
maker,  Mr.  John  Tagliabeau,  of  New  York,  I  had  a 
handsome  present  of  spirit  thermometers.  From  the 
Topographical  Bureau  at  Washington,  through  the 


SCIENTIFIC  OUTFIT.  11 

courtesy  of  its  chief,  I  was  supplied  with  two  pocket- 
sextants,  instruments  which  could  not  have  been  ob- 
tained either  by  purchase  or  loan  elsewhere.  I  had 
hoped  to  secure  from  the  National  Observatory  the 
use  of  a  deep-sea  sounding  apparatus,  until  it  was 
made  known  to  me  that  the  concession  was  not  pro- 
vided for  by  act  of  Congress.  Outside  of  the  limits 
of  nautical  routine  I  fared  better.  The  Chief  of  the 
Coast  Survey  furnished  me  with  a  vertical  circle,  which 
contained  the  double  advantage  of  a  transit  and  the- 
odolite, a  well-tested  unifilar  magnetometer,  a  reflect- 
ing circle,  a  Wurdeman  compass,  and  several  other 
valuable  instruments.  We  had  five  chronometers, — 
three  box  and  two  pocket,  which  last  were  intended 
for  use  in  sledge  travelling.  We  had  an  excellent  tel- 
escope, with  a  four  and  a  half  inch  object-glass ;  and, 
under  the  joint  superintendence  of  the  late  Professor 
Bond,  of  Cambridge,  and  Mr.  Sonntag,  I  caused  to  be 
constructed  a  pendulum  apparatus  after  the  plan  of 
Foster's  instrument. 

I  lacked  not  instruments,  but  men.  My  only  well- 
instructed  associate  was  Mr.  Sonntag. 

Our  outfit  was  altogether  of  the  very  best  descrip- 
tion, and  our  larder  contained  every  thing  that  could 
reasonably  be  desired.  An  abundant  supply  of  canned 
meats,  vegetables,  and  fruits  insured  us  against  scurvy, 
and  a  large  stock  of  desiccated  beef,  beef  soup,  (a 
mixture  of  meat,  carrots,  onions,  &c.,)  and  potatoes, 
prepared  expressly  for  me  by  the  American  Desiccat- 
ing Company  of  New  York,  gave  us  a  light  and  port- 
able food  for  the  sledge  journeys.  I  preferred  the 
food  in  this  form  to  the  ordinary  pernican.  We  were 
amply  provided  with  good  warm  woollen  clothing,  and 
four  large  bales  of  buffalo-skins  promised  each  of  us 


12  READY  TO  SAIL. 

the  materials  for  a  coat  and  protection  against  the 
Arctic  winds.  A  good  stock  of  rifles  and  guns,  and  a 
plentiful  supply  of  ammunition,  finished  our  guar- 
antees against  want.  We  had  forty  tons  of  coal  and 
wood  in  the  hold,  and  a  quantity  of  pine  boards,  in- 
tended for  housing  over  the  upper  deck  when  in  win- 
ter quarters. 

Our  sledges  were  constructed  after  a  pattern  fur- 
nished by  myself,  and  the  tents,  cooking-lamps,  and 
other  camp  fixtures,  were  manufactured  under  my 
personal  supervision.  From  numerous  friends,  whose 
names  I  cannot  here  mention  without  violating  the 
obligations  of  confidence,  we  received  books  and  a 
great  quantity  of  "  small  stores "  which  were  after- 
ward greatly  appreciated  during  our  winter  imprison- 
ment in  the  ice. 

We  had  expected  to  sail  on  the  4th  of  July,  and 
the  friends  of  the  Expedition  were  invited  by  the 
Boston  Committee,  through  its  secretary,  Mr.  0.  W. 
Peabody,  to  see  us  off  Although  the  day  was  dark 
and  drizzly  many  hundreds  of  persons  were  present. 
Through  some  unavoidable  accident  we  did  not  get 
away.  The  guests,  however,  made  us  the  recipients 
of  their  best  wishes,  and  when  the  members  of  my 
little  command  (assembled  together  on  that  day  for 
the  first  time)  found  themselves  addressed  in  turn  by 
the  Governor  of  the  State,  the  Mayor  of  the  City, 
and  the  President  of  Harvard,  and  by  renowned 
statesmen,  orators,  divines  and  merchants  of  Boston, 
and  by  savans  of  Cambridge,  the  measure  of  their 
happiness  was  full.  Inspired  by  the  interest  thus  so 
conspicuously  manifested  in  their  fortunes,  they  felt 
ready  for  any  emergency. 


THE   OPEN  POLAR  SEA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

LEAVING  BOSTON.— AT  ANCHOR  IN  NANTASKET  KOADS.  — AT  SEJT 

LATE  in  the  evening  of  July  6th,  1860,  the  schooner 
United  States  was  hauled  into  the  stream,  prepared 
to  leave  port  the  following  morning. 

The  morning  dawned  clear  and  auspicious.  Upon 
going  on  board,  I  found  that  a  number  of  friends 
whom  I  had  invited  to  accompany  us  down  the  bay 
had  preceded  me  by  half  an  hour.  Among  them  were 
His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  State,  and  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Boston,  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia committees. 

The  fine,  large  steam-tug  R.  B.  Forbes  soon  came 
alongside,  alive  with  a  gay  party  of  well-wishers,  and, 
taking  the  end  of  our  hawser,  started  us  from  our  an- 
rchorage.  As  we  passed  Long  Wharf  we  were  honored 
with  a  salute  from  a  battery  which  the  Mayor  of  the 
city  had  sent  down  for  that  purpose,  and  numerous 
parting  cheers  greeted  us  as  we  steamed  down  the 
bay. 

The  wind  being  unfavorable,  we  dropped  anchor 
for  the  night  in  Nantasket  Roads.  The  tug  took 
most  of  our  friends  back  to  Boston,  and  I  was  left  in 
my  cabin  with  the  official  representatives  of  the  pro- 
moters of  the  enterprise,  engaged  in  the  last  of  our 


14  LEAVING   BOSTON. 

numerous  consultations.  A  handful  of  papers  was 
put  into  my  possession,  and  I  became  the  sole  owner 
of  the  schooner  United  States  and  the  property  on 
board  of  her.  The  sun  had  set  before  our  conference 
ended,  and  the  wind  promising  to  hold  from  the  east- 
ward during  the  night,  I  returned  to  Boston  with  Mr. 
Baker,  in  his  yacht. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  schooner  next  morning,  I 
found  that  the  executive  officer  had  availed  himself 
of  the  delay  to  break  out  the  ship's  hold  and  effect  a 
better  stowage  of  the  deck  cargo.  Indeed,  we  were 
in  no  condition  for  going  to  sea.  Many  of  the  stores 
were  hurried  on  board  at  the  last  moment,  and  the 
deck  was  literally  covered  with  boxes  and  bales, 
which,  in  the  haste  of  departure,  could  not  be  stowed 
away.  It  was  long  after  nightfall  when  the  hatches 
were  closed  and  every  thing  secured ;  but  as  the  pilot 
did  not  come  on  board,  we  were  compelled  to  wait 
until  daylight. 

I  passed  the  night  on  Mr.  Baker's  yacht,  which  lay 
near  by,  with  some  kind  friends  who  would  not  quit  us 
until  they  saw  us  fairly  off  The  pretty  yachts  Stella 
and  Howard,  to  whose  gentlemanly  owners  I  was  in- 
debted for  courteous  attentions,  also  kept  us  company. 

With  the  first  gray  streak  of  the  dawning  day,  this 
little  fleet  tripped  their  anchors  and  glided  home, 
bearing  our  last  good-byes,  while  we,  with  a  fair  wind, 
stood  out  to  sea. 

Before  the  night  closed  in,  the  coast  had  sunk  out 
of  sight,  and  I  was  once  more  tossing  on  the  waves 
of  the  broad  Atlantic.  Again  I  saw  the  sun  sink  be- 
neath the  line  of  waters,  and  I  watched  the  changing 
clouds  which  hung  over  the  land  I  had  left  behind  me, 
until  the  last  faint  flush  of  gold  and  crimson  had 


FIRST  NIGHT  AT  SEA. 


15 


melted  away  into  the  soft  twilight.  Creeping  then 
into  my  damp,,  narrow  bunk,  I  slept  the  first  long,  un- 
broken sleep  I  had  had  for  weeks.  The  expedition 
which  had  absorbed  so  much  of  my  attention  during 
the  past  five  years  was  now  fairly  on  its  way.  Trust- 
ing in  Providence  and  my  own  /energy,  I  had  faith  in 
the  future. 


CHAPTER  H. 

PASSAGE  TO  THE  GREENLAND  COAST.  — DISCIPLINE.  — THE  DECKS  AT  SEA.  — 
OUR  QUARTERS.— THE  FIRST  ICEBERG.  —  CROSSING  THE  ARCTIC  CIRCLE.— 
THE  MIDNIGHT  SUN.— THE  ENDLESS  DAY.  —  MAKING  THB  LAND.— A  REMARK- 
ABLE SCENE  AMONG  THE  BERGS.— AT  ANCHOR  IN  PROVEN  HARBOR. 

I  WILL  not  long  detain  the  reader  with  the  details 
of  our  passage  to  the  Greenland  coast.  It  was  mainly 
devoid  of  interest. 

My  first  concern  was  to  regulate  the  domestic  af- 
fairs of  my  little  company ;  my  second,  to  make  the 
schooner  as  tidy  and  comfortable  as  possible.  The 
former  was  much  more  easily  managed  than  the  lat- 
ter. Calling  the  officers  and  crew  together,  I  ex- 
plained to  them  that,  inasmuch  as  we  would  for  a  long 
time  constitute  our  own  little  world,  we  must  all  rec- 
ognize the  obligations  of  a  mutual  dependence  and 
the  ties  of  mutual  safety,  interest,  and  ambition. 
Keeping  this  in  view,  we  would  find  no  hardship  in 
making  all  selfish  considerations  subordinate  to-  the 
necessities  of  a  mutual  accommodation.  The  respdhse 
was  highly  gratifying  to  me,  and  I  had  afterward 
abundant  reason  to  congratulate  myself  upon  having 
at  the  outset  established  the  relations  of  the  crew  with 
myself  upon  such  a  satisfactory  footing.  To  say  noth- 
ing of  its  advantages  to  our  convenience,  this  course 
saved  much  trouble.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  cruise  I  had  no  occasion  to  record  a  breach  of 
discipline ;  and  I  did  not  find  it  necessary  to  establish 


THE  DECKS.  17 

any  other  rules  than  those  which  are  usual  in  all  well 
disciplined  ships. 

To  make  the  schooner  comfortable  was  impractica- 
ble, and  to  make  her  tidy  equally  so.  I  found  my- 
self rocking  about  on  the  Atlantic  with  decks  hi  a 
condition  to  have  sorely  tried  the  patience  of  the 
most  practised  sailor.  Barrels,  boxes,  boards,  boats, 
and  other  articles  were  spiked  or  lashed  to  the  bul- 
warks and  masts,  until  all  available  space  was  covered, 
and  there  was  left  only  a  narrow,  winding  pathway 
from  the  quarter  to  the  forecastle  deck,  and  no  place 
whatever  for  exercise  but  the  top  of  the  trunk  cabin, 
which  was  just  twelve  feet  by  ten ;  and  even  this  was 
partly  covered,  and  that  too  with  articles  which,  if 
they  have  existence,  should  at  least  never  be  in  sight 
on  a  well-regulated  craft.  But  this  was  not  to  be 
helped,  —  there  was  no  room  for  any  thing  more  be- 
low hatches  ;  every  nook  and  cranny  in  the  vessel 
was  full,  and  we  had  no  alternative  but  to  allow  the 
decks  to  be  "  lumbered  up "  until  some  friendly  sea 
should  come  and  wash  the  incumbrance  overboard. 
(We  were  entirely  too  prudent  to  throw  any  thing 
away.)  That  such  an  event  would  happen  seemed 
likely  enough,  for  we  were  loaded  down  until  the 
deck,  in  the  waist,  was  only  a  foot  and  a  half  above 
the  water ;  and,  standing  in  the  gangway,  you  could 
at  any  time  lean  over  the  monkey-rail  and  touch  the 
sea  with  your  fingers.  The  galley  filled  up  the  entire 
space  between  the  fore  hatch  and  the  mainmast ;  and 
the  water,  coming  in  over  the  gangway,  poured 
through  it  frequently  without  restraint.  The  cook 
and  the  fire  were  often  put  out  together,  and  the 
regularity  of  our  meals  was  a  little  disturbed  in  con- 
sequence. 


18  THE    CABIN. 

My  cabin  occupied  the  after-half  of  the  "trunk." 
(which  extended  two  feet  above  the  quarter-deck,) 
and  was  six  feet  by  ten.  Two  "  bull's-eyes  "  gave  me 
a  feeble  light  by  day,  and  a  kerosene  lamp,  which 
creaked  uneasily  in  its  gimbals,  by  night.  Two  berths 
let,  one  into  either  side,  furnished  commodious  recep- 
tacles for  ship's  stores.  The  carpenter,  however,  fixed 
up  a  narrow  bunk  for  me ;  and  when  I  had  covered 
this  with  a  brilliant  afghan,  and  enclosed  it  with  a  pair 
of  crimson  curtains,  I  was  astonished  at  the  amount 
of  comfort  which  I  had  manufactured  for  myself. 

The  narrow  space  in  front  of  my  cabin  contained 
the  companion  ladder,  the  steward's  pantry,  the  stove- 
pipe, a  barrel  of  flour,  and  a  "  room  "  for  Mr.  Sonntag. 
Forward  of  this,  two  steps  down  in  the  hold,  was  the 
officers'  cabin,  which  was  exactly  twelve  feet  square 
by  six  feet  high.  It  was  oak-panelled,  and  had  eight 
bunks,  happily  not  all  occupied.  It  was  not  a  com- 
modious apartment.  The  men's  quarters  were  under 
the  forecastle  deck,  close  against  the  "  dead-wood  "  of 
the  "  ship's  eyes."  They,  too,  were  necessarily  crowded 
for  room. 

Our  course  from  Boston  lay  directly  for  the  outer 
capes  of  Newfoundland,  inside  of  Sable  Island.  Every 
one  who  has  sailed  down  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia 
knows  the  nature  of  the  fogs  which  hang  over  the 
banks,  especially  during  the  warm  season  of  the  year ; 
and  we  had  our  full  measure  of  the  embarrassing 
fortune  which  usually  befalls  the  navigator  of  those 
waters. 

We  ran  into  a  fog  bank  on  the  second  day  out  from 
Boston,  and  for  seven  days  thereafter  were  envel- 
oped in  an  atmosphere  so  dense  as  completely  to 
obscure  the  sun  and  horizon.  We  could,  of  course, 


"BREAKERS  AHEAD."  19 

obtain  no  "sights,"  and,  during  that  period,  were 
obliged  in  consequence  to  rely  for  our  position  upon 
the  lead  line  and  our  dead  reckoning.  Uncertain  cur- 
rents made  this  last  a  method  of  doubtful  depend- 
ence. 

On  the  sixth  day  of  this  seemingly  endless  fog  I 
grew  rather  more  than  usually  uneasy ;  but  the  sail- 
ing-master assured  me  that  he  was  certain  of  our 
position ;  and,  with  the  map  before  us  on  the  table, 
he  proved  it  by  the  soundings.  We  would  clear  Cape 
Race  in  the  morning  watch. 

The  morning  watch  found  me  on  deck,  and,  as  be- 
fore, our  position  was  shown  by  the  record  of  the  lead. 
The  lead  was  a  false  prophet,  for  instead  of  running 
outside  we  were  rushing  squarely  upon  the  cape. 
Satisfied,  however,  by  the  assurances  which  I  had  re- 
ceived, I  went  below  to  breakfast,  and  had  scarcely 
been  seated  when  that  most  disagreeable  of  all  cries, 
—  once  heard,  never  to  be  forgotten,  —  "  Breakers 
ahead ! "  startled  us.  Upon  reaching  the  deck,  I  found 
the  sails  shivering  in  the  wind,  and  almost  within  pistol- 
shot  rose  a  great  black  wall,  against  which  the  sea 
was  breaking  in  a  most  threatening  manner.  Forte 
nately  the  schooner  came  quickly  to  the  wind  and 
held  in  stays,  otherwise  we  must  have  struck  in  a 
very  few  minutes.  As  it  was,  we  settled  close  upon 
the  rocks  before  the  sails  filled  and  we  began  to  crawl 
slowly  off!  The  spray,  thrown  back  from  the  sullen 
cliff,  actually  fell  upon  the  deck,  and  it  seemed  as  if  I 
could  almost  touch  the  rocks  with  my  hand.  We 
were  soon  relieved  by  seeing  the  dark  fog-veil  drawn 
between  us  and  danger.  But  the  danger  was,  appa- 
rently, not  yet  passed.  In  half  an  hour  the  wind  died 
away  almost  to  a  calm,  leaving  us  a  heavy  sea  to  fight 


20  ACROSS  THE   ARCTIC   CIRCLE. 

with,  while  out  of  the  blackness  came  the  wail  of  the 
angry  surf  bemoaning  the  loss  of  its  prey. 

The  wind  increased  toward  noon,  and  freed  us  from 
suspense.  Resolved  this  time  to  give  Cape  Race  a 
wide  berth,  we  ran  off  E.  S.  E.,  and  not  until  I  was 
sure,  by  the  color  of  the  water,  that  Newfoundland 
was  at  a  safe  distance,  did  I  let  the  schooner  fill  away 
on  her  course  toward  Cape  Farewell.  By  this  time 
a  stiff  breeze  was  blowing  from  the  south,  and  as  the 
night  closed  in  we  were  running  before  the  wind  un- 
der a  close-reefed  topsail. 

A  succession  of  southerly  gales  now  chased  us 
northward,  and  we  hauled  in  our  latitude  with  gratify- 
ing rapidity.  In  a  few  days  we  were  ploughing  the 
waters  which  bathe  the  rock-bound  coasts  of  Green- 
land. 

On  the  30th  of  July  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  being 
once  more  within  the  Arctic  Circle.  That  imaginary 
line  was  crossed  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and 
the  event  was  celebrated  by  a  salute  from  our  signal- 
gun  and  a  display  of  bunting. 

We  now  felt  that  we  had  fairly  entered  upon  our 
career. 

We  were  twenty  days  out  from  Boston,  and  had 
made  throughout  an  average  run  of  a  hundred  miles 
a  day.  The  schooner  had  proved  herself  an  excel- 
lent sea-boat.  The  coast  of  Greenland  was  about 
ten  leagues  away,  obscured  by  a  cloud ;  we  had 
Cape  Walsingham  on  the  port  beam,  and  the  lofty 
Suckertoppen  would  have  been  visible  over  the  star- 
board quarter  had  the  air  been  clear.  We  had  not 
yet,  however, -sighted  the  land,  but  we  had  made  our 
first  iceberg,  we  had  seen  the  "midnight  sun,"  and 
we  had  come  into  the  endless  day.  When  the  hour- 


THE  FIRST  ICEBERG.  21 

hand  of  the  Yankee  clock  which  ticked  above  my 
head  pointed  to  XII.,  the  sunlight  still  flooded  the 
cabin.  Accustomed  to  this  strange  life  in  former 
years,  the  change  had  to  me  little  of  novelty ;  but 
the  officers  complained  of  sleeplessness,  and  were 
lounging  about  as  if  waiting  for  the  old-fashioned 
darkness  which  suggests  bed-time. 

The  first  iceberg  was  niade  the  day  before  we 
passed  the  Arctic  Circle.  The  dead  white  mass  broke 
upon  us  out  of  a  dense  fog,  and  was  mistaken  by  the 
lookout  for  land  when  he  first  caught  the  sound  of 
breakers  beating  upon  it.  It  was  floating  directly  in 
our  course,  but  we  had  time  enough  to  clear  it.  Its 
form  was  that  of  an  irregular  pyramid,  about  three 
hundred  feet  at  its  base,  and  perhaps  half  as  high.  Its 
summit  was  at  first  obscured,  but  at  length  the  mist 
broke  away,  disclosing  the  peak  of  a  glittering  spire, 
around  which  the  white  clouds  were  curling  and  danc- 
ing in  the  sunlight.  There  was  something  very  im- 
pressive in  the  stern  indifference  with  which  it  re- 
ceived the  lashings  of  the  sea.  The  waves  threw  their 
liquid  arms  about  it  caressingly,  but  it  deigned  not 
even  a  nod  of  recognition,  and  sent  them  reeling  back- 
ward, moaning  and  lamenting. 

-We  had  some  rough  handling  in  Davis'  Strait. 
Once  I  thought  we  had  surely  come  ingloriously  to 
grief.  We  were  running  before  the  wind  and  fighting 
a  wretched  cross-sea  under  reefed  fore  and  mainsail 
and  jib,  when  the  fore  fife-rail  was  carried  away ;  — 
down  came  every  thing  to  the  deck,  and  there  was  left 
not  a  stitch  of  canvas  on  the  schooner  but  the  lum- 
bering mainsail.  It  was  a  miracle  that  we  did  not 
broach  to  and  go  to  the  bottom.  Nothing  saved  us 
but  a  steady  hand  at  the  helm. 


22  A  LAND-FALL. 

The  following  entry  in  my  journal,  made  at  this 
period,  will  exhibit  our  condition  and  the  temper  of 
the  crew :  — 

"Notwithstanding  all  this  knocking  about,  every 
body  seems  to  take  it  for  granted  that  this  sort  of 
thing  is  very  natural  and  proper,  and  a  part  of  the 
engagement  for  the  cruise.  It  is  at  least  gratifying 
to  see  that  they  take  kindly  to  discomfort,  and  receive 
every  freak  of  fortune  with  manly  good  nature.  I 
really  believe  that  were  affairs  otherwise  ordered  they 
would  be  sadly  disappointed.  They  are  "the  small 
band  of  brave  and  spirited  men  "  they  read  about  in 
the  newspapers,  and  they  mean  to  show  it.  The  sail- 
ors are  sometimes  literally  drowned  out  of  the  fore- 
castle. The  cabin  is  flooded  at  least  a  dozen  times  a 
day.  The  skylight  has  been  knocked  to  pieces  by  the 
head  of  a  sea,  and  the  table,  standing  directly  under 
it,  has  been  more  than  once  cleared  of  crockery  and 
eatables  without  the  aid  of  the  steward.  My  own 
cabin  gets  washed  out  at  irregular  intervals,  and  my 
books  are  half  of  them  spoiled  by  tumbling  from  their 
shelves  in  spite  of  all  I  can  do  to  the  contrary.  Once 
I  caught  the  whole  library  tacking  about  the  deck 
after  an  unusually  ambitious  dive  of  the  schooner,  and 
the  advent  of  a  more  than  ordinarily  heavy  rush  of 
water  through  the  '  companion-way.' " 

It  had  been  my  intention  to  stop  at  Egedesmindie, 
or  some  other  of  the  lower  Danish  stations,  on  the 
Greenland  coast,  to  obtain  a  stock  of  furs,  and  at  the 
upper  settlements  to  procure  the  needful  supply  of 
dogs  for  sledge  travelling ;  but,  the  wind  being  fair,  I 
resolved  to  hold  on  and  trust  to  obtaining  every  thing 
required  at  Proven  and  Upernavik. 

We  made  our  first  land-fall  on  the  31st.     It  proved 


VIEW   OF  GREENLAND.  23 

to  be  the  southern  extremity  of  Disco  Island.  The 
lofty  mountains  broke  suddenly  through  the  thick 
mist,  and  exposed  their  hoary  heads,  not  a  little  to 
our  astonishment ;  but  they  vanished  again  as  quickly 
as  they  had  appeared.  But  we  had  got  a  clutch  upon 
the  land,  and  found  that,  befogged  though  we  were, 
we  had  calculated  our  position  to  a  nicety.  From  this 
moment  the  interest  of  our  cruise  was  doubled. 

The  next  day  we  were  abreast  the  Nord  Fiord  of 
Disco,  in  latitude  70°,  and,  gliding  on  with  a  light 
wind,  the  Waigat  and  Oominak  Fiord  were  soon  be- 
hind us ;  and  on  the  evening  of  August  2d  we  were 
approaching  the  bold  promontory  of  Svarte  Huk, 
which  is  only  forty  miles  from  Proven,  whither  we 
were  bound. 

"A  man's  heart  deviseth  his  way,  but  the  Lord 
directeth  his  steps."  Just  as  we  were  congratulating 
ourselves  upon  the  prospect  of  getting  an  appetite  for 
breakfast  among  the  Greenland  hills,  the  wind  began 
to  show  decided  symptoms  of  weakness ;  and,  after  a 
succession  of  spasmodic  efforts  to  recover  itself,  pro- 
longed through  the  next  four  and  twenty  hours,  it  at 
length  died  away  completely,  and  left  us  lying  on  the 
still  waters,  impatient  and  ill  at  ease.  We  were  sadly 
disappointed ;  but  the  sun  scattered  the  vapors  which 
had  hung  so  long  about  us,  and,  in  the  scene  which 
broke  out  of  the  dissolving  mist,  we  buried  our  vex- 
ation. 

Greenland  had  been  for  some  time  regarded  by  my 
companions  as  a  sort  of  myth ;  for,  although  fre- 
quently only  a  few  miles  from  its  coast,  so  thick  and 
constant  had  been  the  clouds  and  fogs,  that,  except 
for  a  few  brief  minutes,  it  had  been  wholly  hidden 
from  our  view.  Here,  however,  it  was  at  last,  shaking 


24  AMONG  THE  ICEBERGS. 

off  its  cloud  mantle,  and  standing  squarely  out  before 
us  in  austere  magnificence,  —  its  broad  valleys,  its 
deep  ravines,  its  noble  mountains,  its  black,  beetling 
cliffs,  its  frowning  desolation. 

As  the  fog  lifted  and  rolled  itself  up  like  a  scroll 
over  the  sea  to  the  westward,  iceberg  after  iceberg 
burst  into  view,  like  castles  in  a  fairy  tale.  It  seemed, 
indeed,  as  if  we  had  been  drawn  by  some  unseen  hand 
into  a  land  of  enchantment,  rather  than  that  we  had 
come  of  our  own  free  will  into  a  region  of  stern  real- 
ities, in  pursuit  of  stern  purposes ;  —  as  if  the  elves 
of  the  North  had,  in  sportive  playfulness,  thrown  a 
veil  about  our  eyes,  and  enticed  us  to  the  very  "  seat 
eternal  of  the  gods."  Here  was  the  Valhalla  of  the 
sturdy  Vikings ;  here  the  city  of  the  sun-god  Freyer, 
— Alfheim,  with  its  elfin  caves, —  and  Glitner,  with  its 
walls  of  gold  and  roofs  of  silver,  and  Gimle,  more 
brilliant  than  the  sun,  —  the  home  of  the  happy ;  and 
there,  piercing  the  clouds,  was  Himinborg,  the  Ce- 
lestial Mount,  where  the  bridge  of  the  gods  touches 
Heaven. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  scene  more  sol- 
emnly impressive  than  that  which  was  disclosed  to  us 
by  the  sudden  change  in  the  clouded  atmosphere. 
From  my  diary  I  copy  the  following  brief  description 
of  it :  — 

"MIDNIGHT. — I  have  just  come  below,  lost  in  the 
wondrous  beauty  of  the  night.  The  sea  is  smooth  as 
glass;  not  a  ripple  breaks  its  dead  surface,  not  a 
breath  of  air  stirring.  The  sun  hangs  close  upon  the 
northern  horizon;  the  fog  has  broken  up  into  light 
clouds ;  the  icebergs  lie  thick  about  us ;  the  dark 
headlands  stand  boldly  out  against  the  sky ;  and  the 
clouds  and  sea  and  bergs  and  mountains  are  bathed  in 


BEAUTY  O*F  THE   ICEBERGS.  25 

an  atmosphere  of  crimson  and  gold  and  purple  most 
singularly  beautiful." 

In  all  my  former  experience  in  this  region  of  start- 
ling novelties  I  had  never  seen  any  thing  to  equal 
what  I  witnessed  that  night.  The  air  was  warm  al- 
most as  a  summer's  night  at  home,  and  yet  there  were 
the  icebergs  and  the  bleak  mountains,  with  which  the 
fancy,  in  this  land  of  green  hills  and  waving  forests, 
can  associate  nothing  but  cold  repulsiveness.  The 
sky  was  bright  and  soft  and  strangely  inspiring  as  the 
skies  of  Italy.  The  bergs  had  wholly  lost  their  chilly 
aspect,  and,  glittering  in  the  blaze  of  the  brilliant 
heavens,  seemed,  in  the  distance,  like  masses  of  bur- 
.nished  metal  or  solid  flame.  Nearer  at  hand  they 
were  huge  blocks  of  Parian  marble,  inlaid  with  mam- 
moth gems  of  pearl  and  opal.  One  in  particular  ex- 
hibited the  perfection  of  the  grand.  Its  form  was  not 
unlike  that  of  the  Coliseum,  and  it  lay  so  far  away 
that  half  its  height  was  buried  beneath  the  line  of 
blood-red  waters.  The  sun,  slowly  rolling  along  the 
horizon,  passed  behind  it,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  old 
Roman  ruin  had  suddenly  taken  fire. 

Nothing  indeed  but  the  pencil  of  the  artist  could 
depict  the  wonderful  richness  of  this  sparkling  frag- 
ment of  Nature.  Church,  in  his  great  picture  of  "  The 
Icebergs,"  has  grandly  exhibited  a  scene  not  unlike 
that  which  I  would  in  vain  describe. 

In  the  shadows  of  the  bergs  the  water  was  a  rich 
green,  and  nothing  could  be  more  soft  and  tender 
than  the  gradations  of  color  made  by  the  sea  shoaling 
on  the  sloping  tongue  of  a  berg  close  beside  us.  The 
tint  increased  in  intensity  where  the  ice  overhung 
the  water,  and  a  deep  cavern  near  by  exhibited  the 
solid  color  of  the  malachite  mingled  with  the  transpa- 


26  NEARING  HARBOR. 

rency  of  the  emerald ;  while,  in  strange  contrast,  a 
broad  streak  of  cobalt  blue  ran  diagonally  through 
its  body. 

The  bewitching  character  of  the  scene  was  height- 
ened by  a  thousand  little  cascades  which  leaped  into 
the  sea  from  these  floating  masses, —  the  water  being 
discharged  from  lakes  of  melted  snow  and  ice  which 
reposed  in  quietude  far  up  in  the  valleys  separating 
the  high  icy  hills  of  their  upper  surface.  From  other 
bergs  large  pieces  were  now  and  then  detached,  — 
plunging  down  into  the  water  with  deafening  noise, 
while  the  slow  moving  swell  of  the  ocean  resounded 
through  their  broken  archways. 

I  had  been  watching  this  scene  for  hours,  lost  in 
reverie  and  forgetfulness,  when  I  was  brought  sud- 
denly to  my  senses  by  the  master's  mate,  who  came 
to  report,  "Ice  close  aboard,  sir."  We  were  drifting 
slowly  upon  a  berg  about  the  height  of  our  topmasts. 
The  boats  were  quickly  lowered  to  pull  us  off,  and, 
the  schooner  once  more  in  safety,  I  went  to  bed. 

I  awoke  after  a  few  hours,  shivering  with  the  cold. 
The  "bull's-eye"  above  my  head  was  open,  and  a 
chilly  fog  was  pouring  in  upon  me.  Hurrying  on 
deck,  I  found  the  whole  scene  changed.  A  dense 
gray  mist  had  settled  over  the  waters  and  icebergs 
and  mountains,  blending  them  all  in  chaotic  gloom. 

Twenty-four  days  at  sea  had  brought  the  water 
very  low  in  our  casks,  and  I  took  advantage  of  the 
delay  to  send  off  to  a  neighboring  iceberg  for  a  fresh 
supply.  The  water  of  these  bergs  is  pure  and  clear 
as  crystal. 

Getting  at  last  a  slant  of  the  wind,  we  ran  in  among 
the  low  islands  which  line  the  coast  above  Svarte 
Huk ;  and  Sonntag,  who  had  gone  ahead  in  a  boat  to 


AT   PROVEN  27 

Proven,  having  sent  off  to  us  a  swarthy-looking  pilot, 
we  wound  our  way  slowly  through  the  tortuous  pas- 
sage, and  at  a  little  after  midnight  of  August  6th  we 
dropped  anchor  in  the  snuggest  of  little  harbors. 
The  loud  baying  of  dogs,  and  an  odor,  baffling  de- 
scription,—  "a  very  ancient  and  fish-like  smell,"  — 
first  warned  us  of  our  approach  to  a  Greenland  set- 
tlement 


CHAPTER  III. 

* 

THE  COLONY  OF   PROVEX  —  THE   KAYAK   OF   THE  GREENLANDER.  —  SCARCITY 
OF   DOGS.  —  LIBERALITY  OF  THE  CHIEF  TRADER.  —  ARCTIC  FLORA. 

WE  were  escorted  into  the  harbor  of  Proven  by  the 
strangest  fleet  of  boats  and  the  strangest-looking  boat- 
men that  ever  convoyed  a  ship.  They  were  the  far- 
famed  kayakers  of  Greenland,  and  they  deserve  a 
passing  notice. 

The  kayak  of  the  Greenlander  is  the  frailest  speci- 
men of  marine  architecture  that  ever  carried  human 
freight.  It  is  eighteen  feet  long  and  as  many  inches 
wide  at  its  middle,  and  tapers,  with  an  upward  curv- 
ing line,  to  a  point  at  either  end.  The  skeleton  of 
the  boat  is  made  of  light  wood;  the  covering  is  of 
tanned  seal-skin,  sewed  together  by  the  native  women 
with  sinew  thread,  and  with  a  strength  and  dexterity 
quite  astonishing.  Not  a  drop  of  water  finds  its  way 
through  their  seams,  and  the  skin  itself  is  perfectly 
water-proof.  The  boat  is  about  nine  inches  deep,  and 
the  top  is  covered  like  the  bottom.  There  is  no 
opening  into  it  except  a  round  hole  in  the  centre, 
which  admits  the  hunter  as  far  as  his  hips.  This 
hole  is  surrounded  with  a  wooden  rim,  over  which  the 
kayaker  laces  the  lower  edge  of  his  water-tight  jacket, 
and  thus  fastens  himself  in  and  keeps  the  water  out. 
He  propels  himself  with  a  single  oar  about  six  feet 
long,  which  terminates  in  a  blade  or  paddle  at  either 
end.  This  instrument  of  locomotion  is  grasped  in  the 


THE   KAYAK   OF   THE   GREENLANDER.  29 

centre,  and  is  dipped  in  the  water  alternately  to  right 
and  left.  The  boat  is  graceful  as  a  duck  and  light  as 
a  feather.  It  has  no  ballast  and  no  keel,  and  it  rides 
almost  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  It  is  therefore 
necessarily  top-heavy.  Long  practice  is  required  to 
manage  it,  and  no  tight-rope  dancer  ever  needed 
more  steady  nerve  and  skill  of  balance  than  this  same 
savage  kayaker.  Yet,  in  this  frail  craft,  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  ride  seas  which  would  swamp  an  ordinary 
boat,  or  to  break  through  surf  which  may  sweep  com- 
pletely over  him.  But  he  is  used  to  hard  battles, 
and,  in  spite  of  every  fortune,  he  keeps  himself  up- 
right. 

I  watched  their  movements  with  much  interest  as 
they  collected  about  the  schooner.  Among  the  bene- 
fits which  they  had  derived  from  civilization  was  an 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  rum,  coffee,  and  tobacco ; 
and  they  were  not  overly  modest  in  their  demands 
for  these  articles.  Most  of  them  had,  however,  some- 
thing to  trade,  and  went  home  with  their  reward. 
One  old  fellow  who  had  managed  to  pick  up  a  few 
words  of  English,  without  being  particularly  clear  as 
to  their  meaning,  was  loud  in  his  demands  for  a 
"pound  rum,  bottle  sugar,"  offering  in  exchange  a 
fine  salmon. 

I  had  intended  to  remain  at  Proven  only  a  single 
day,  and  then  to  hasten  on  with  all  possible  speed ; 
but  our  stay  was  prolonged  by  circumstances  to  which 
I  was  forced  to  submit  with  as  good  a  grace  as  possible. 
It  was  idle  for  me  to  leave  without  a  supply  of  dogs,  for 
my  plans  and  preparations  were  entirely  based .  upon 
them ;  and  the  prospect  of  accomplishing  my  design 
in  this  respect  appeared,  from  the  first,  very  feeble. 
In  order  to  save  time,  Sonntag  had  gone  to  the  vii- 


30  SCARCITY   OF   DOGS. 

lage  when  we  lay  becalmed  off  Svarte  Huk,  and  he 
returned  on  board  with  the  most  discouraging  ac- 
counts of  the  poverty  of  the  settlements  in  that 
which  was  such  an  essential  addition  to  our  equip- 
ment. A  disease  which  had  prevailed  among  the 
teams,  during  the  past  year,  had  diminished  the  stock 
to  less  than  half  of  what  was  required  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  people  ;  and  all  our  offers  to  purchase, 
oither  with  money  or  provisions,  were  at  first  flatly 
refused,  and  were  in  the  end  only  partially  successful. 

Mr.  Sonntag  had  called  upon  the  Assistant  Trader 
immediately  after  his  arrival,  and  was  at  once  informed 
by  that  official  of  the  unfortunate  state  of  affairs.  He 
would,  however,  personally  interest  himself  in  the 
matter,  and  advised  that  we  should  await  the  arrival 
of  the  Chief  Trader,  Mr.  Hansen,  who  resided  at 
Upernavik,  which  is  forty  miles  to  the  north,  and 
would  be  in  Proven  in  a  day  or  so.  It  was  evident 
that  nothing  could  be  done  without  the  aid  of  this 
all-powerful  public  functionary,  for  whose  arrival  we 
had  no  alternative  but  to  wait.  If  we  went  on  to 
Upernavik  we  ran  the  hazard  of  missing  him  ;  and, 
by  not  seeing  him  until  his  return  to  that  settlement 
from  his  southern  tour,  of  losing  the  advantage  of  his 
prompt  cooperation. 

Mr.  Hansen  arrived  the  following  day,  and  assured 
me  that  he  would  do  what  was  in  his  power;  but  he 
feared  that  he  should  have  little  success.  As  an  ear- 
nest of  his  good-will,  he  informed  me,  with  a  delicate 
courtesy  which  made  me  for  the  moment  wonder  if  a 
lordly  son  of  Castile  had  not  wandered  to  this  land  of 
ice,  and  disguised  himself  in  a  seal-skin  coat,  that  his 
own  teams  were  at  my  disposal.  Beyond  this,  how- 
over,  he  could  neither  advise  nor  command.  There 


LIBERALITY   OF   THE    CHIEF  TRADER.  31 

was  no  public  stock  from  which  to  supply  my  wants ; 
and  so  great  and  universal  had  been  the  ravages  of 
disease  among  the  animals,  that  many  hunters  were 
wholly  destitute,  and  none  were  in  possession  of  their 
usual  number.  He  however  at  once  dispatched  a  cou- 
rier to  Upernavik,  and  others  to  various  small  settle- 
ments, and  thus  heralded  the  news  that  any  hunter 
who  had  an  extra  dog  would  find  a  market  for  it  by 
bringing  it  forthwith  to  Proven  or  Upernavik. 

This  action  of  the  Chief  Trader  was  the  more  ap- 
preciated that  it  was  disinterested,  and  was  uncalled 
for  either  by  any  official  demands  which  were  laid 
upon  him,  or  by  any  special  show  of  dignity  or  im- 
portance with  which  the  insignificant  schooner  lying 
in  the  harbor  could  back  up  my  claims.  The  State 
Department  at  Washington  had,  at  my  solicitation, 
requested  from  the  Danish  Government  such  recogni- 
tion for  me  as  had  been  hitherto  accorded  to  the 
American  and  English  naval  expeditions ;  but  the 
courteous  response  which  came  in  the  form  of  a  com- 
mand to  the  Greenland  officials  to  furnish  me  with 
every  thing  in  their  power  did  not  reach  the  settle- 
ments until  the  following  year.  The  commands  of  his 
Majesty  the  King  could  not,  however,  have  stood  me 
in  better  stead  than  the  gentlemanly  instincts  of  Mr. 
Hansen. 

There  is  little  in  the  history  of  Proven,  either  past 
or  present,  that  will  interest  the  readers  of  this  nar- 
rative. What  there  is  of  it  stands  on  the  southern 
slope  of  a  gneissoid  spur  which  forms  the  terminus  of 
one  of  the  numerous  islands  of  the  vast  archipelago 
lying  between  the  peninsula  of  Svarte  Huk  and  Mel- 
ville Bay.  A  government-house,  one  story  high  and 
plastered  over  with  pitch  and  tar,  is  the  most  conspic- 


32  THE   SETTLEMENT. 

uous  building  in  the  place.  A  shop  and  a  lodging- 
house  for  a  few  Danish  employees  stands  next  in  im- 
portance. Two  or  three  less  imposing  structures  of 
the  pitch  and  tar  description,  inhabited  by  Danes  who 
have  married  native  women  ;  a  few  huts  of  stone  and 
turf,  roofed  with  boards  and  overgrown  with  grass ; 
about  an  equal  number  of  like  description,  but  with- 
out the  board  roof,  and  a  dozen  seal-skin  tents,  all 
pitched  about  promiscuously  among  the  rocks,  make 
up  the  town.  There  is  a  blubber-house  down  by  the 
beach,  and  a  stunted  flag-staff  on  the  hill,  from  which 
the  Danish  Flag  gracefully  waving  in  the  wind,  gave 
the  place  a  show  of  dignity.  The  dignity  of  civiliza- 
tion was  further  preserved  by  an  old  cannon  which 
lay  on  the  grass  under  the  flag,  and  whose  rusty 
throat  made  the  welkin  ring  as  our  anchor  touched 
the  Greenland  rocks. 

The  settlement,  or  Colonien,  as  the  Danes  distinguish 
it,  dates  back  almost  to  the  days  of  good  old  Hans 
Egede,  and  its  name,  as  nearly  as  can  be  interpreted, 
signifies  "  Experiment ; "  and,  after  the  Greenland 
fashion,  a  successful  experiment  it  has  been.  Its  peo- 
ple live,  chiefly,  by  hunting  the  seal ;  and,  of  all  the 
northern  colonies,  few  have  been  as  prosperous.  The 
collections  of  oil  and  skins  during  some  years  are  suffi- 
cient to  freight  a  brig  of  three  hundred  tons. 

The  place  bears  ample  evidence  of  the  nature  of 
its  business.  Carcasses  of  seals  and  seal's  offal  lay 
strewn  along  the  beach,  and  over  the  rocks,  and 
among  the  huts,  in  every  stage  of  decomposition  ;  and 
this,  added  to  every  other  conceivable  accumulation 
that  could  exhibit  a  barbarous  contempt  for  the  hu- 
man nose,  made  the  first  few  hours  of  our  stay  there 
any  thing  but  comfortable. 


ARCTIC    FLORA.  33 

A  better  prospect,  however,  greeted  us  behind  the 
town.  A  beautiful  valley  lay  there,  nestling  be- 
tween the  cliffs,  and  rich  in  Arctic  vegetation.  It 
was  covered  with  a  thick  turf  of  moss  and  grasses, 
among  which  the  Poa  Arctica,  Glyceria  Arctica.  and  Alo- 
pecurus  Alpimis  were  most  abundant.  In  places  it  was, 
indeed,  a  perfect  marsh.  Little  streams  of  melted 
snow  meandered  through  it,  gurgling  among  the 
stones,  or  dashing  wildly  over  the  rocks.  Myriads  of 
little  golden  petaled  poppies  (Papaver  nudicaule]  flut- 
tered over  the  green.  The  dandelion  (Leontodon  pa- 
lustre],  close  kindred  of  the  wild  flower  so  well  known 
at  home,  kept  it  company  ;  the  buttercup  (Ranunculus 
nivalis],  with  its  smiling,  well-remembered  face,  was 
sometimes  seen ;  and  the  less  familiar  Potentilla  and 
the  purple  Pedicularis  were  dotted  about  here  and 
there.  The  saxifrages,  purple,  white,  and  yellow, 
were  also  very  numerous.  I  gathered  not  less  than 
seven  varieties.  The  birch  and  crowberry,  and  the 
beautiful  Andromeda,  the  heather  of  Greenland,  grew 
matted  together  in  a  sheltered  nook  among  the  rocks  ; 
and,  in  strange  mimicry  of  Southern  richness,  the  wil- 
lows feebly  struggled  for  existence  on  the  spongy  turf. 
With  my  cap  I  covered  a  whole  forest  of  them. 

I  had  been  in  Proven  in  1853,  and  the  place  had 
not  changed  in  the  interval.  The  old  ex-trader  Chris- 
tiansen was  there,  a  little  older,  but  not  less  frugal 
than  before.  He  complained  bitterly  of  Dr.  Kane 
not  having  kept  his  promises  to  him,  and  I  endeav- 
ored to  mollify  his  wrath  by  assuring  him  that  Dr. 
Kane  had  lost  his  vessel  and  could  not  return ;  but 
his  life  had  been  made  unhappy  during  seven  long 
years  by  visions  of  a  barrel  of  American  flour,  and 
he  would  not  be  comforted.  He  was  scarcely  able  to 

3 


34  VALUE  OF  DOGS. 

crawl  about ;  but,  when  I  sent  ashore  to  him  the  cov- 
eted treasure,  he  found  strength  to  break  the  head  out 
of  the  cask,  to  feast  his  eyes  on  the  long-expected 
gratuity.  His  sons,  each  with  a  brood  of  Esquimaux 
visaged,  though  flaxen-haired  children,  crowded  around 
the  present.  My  diary  records  that  they  were  the 
best  hunters  in  the  settlement,  and  that  they  had  the 
best  teams  of  dogs ;  and  it  also  mentions,  with  a  little 
chagrin,  that  they  would  not  sell  one  of  them.  I  at- 
tributed this  obstinacy,  at  the  time,  to  their  cross  old 
paternal  relative  ;  but  there  were  better  reasons  than 
this.  They  knew  by  bitter  experience  the  risks  of 
going  into  the  long  winter  without  an  ample  supply 
of  dogs  to  carry  them  over  the  ice  upon  the  seal  hunt, 
and  to  part  with  their  animals  was  to  risk  starvation. 
I  offered  to  give  them  pork  and  beef  and  canned 
meats,  and  flour  and  beans ;  but  they  preferred  the 
seal  and  the  excitement  of  the  hunt,  and  refused  to 
trade. 

At  last  the  couriers  had  all  come  in,  bringing  un- 
welcome news.  A  half-dozen  old  dogs  and  a  less  num. 
ber  of  good  ones  were  all  that  I  had  to  console  myself 
for  the  delay ;  but  the  Chief  Trader  had  returned  to 
Upernavik,  from  which  place  I  had  received  more  en 
couraging  accounts  than  from  the  lower  stations. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ITPERNAVIK.  — HOSPITALITY   OF  THE  INHABITANTS.  — DEATH  AND   BURIAL  Of 
GIBSON  CARUTIIERS.  — A  LUNCH  ON   BOARD.  — ADIEU. 

WE  put  to  sea  early  in  the  morning  of  the  12th, 
and  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  were  at  Uperna- 
vik.  The  entrance  to  the  harbor  is  somewhat  unsafe, 
owing  to  a  reef  which  lies  outside  the  anchorage ;  but 
we  were  fortunate  in  obtaining*  a  native  pilot  at  Pro- 
ven, and  ran  in  without  accident.  This  pilot  was  a 
character  in  his  way.  It  seems  that  he  had  been  con- 
verted from  his  heathen  ways,  and  rejoiced  in  the 
benefits  of  baptism  and  the  name  of  Adam.  Dressed 

in  a  well-worn  suit  of  seal-skins,  Adam  had  about  him 

• 

little  of  the  sailor  trigness ;  yet,  though  riot  a  Palinu- 
rus,  no  pilot  in  all  the  world  had  ever  a  higher  appre- 
ciation of  his  personal  importance.  His  appearance, 
however,  was  not  calculated  to  inspire  any  great  de- 
gree of  confidence  in  his  skill ;  and  the  sailing-master 
plied  him  so  incessantly  with  questions  that  he  at 
length  grew  impatient ;  and,  concentrating  his  vanity 
and  knowledge  into  one  short  sentence,  which  signi- 
fied plainly,  "I  am  master  of  the  situation,"  he  in- 
formed that  officer  that  there  was  "  plenty  water  all 
de  times,  no  rocks  altogeder,"  and  retired  with  every 
mark  of  offended  dignity.  He  was  correct  in  his  in- 
formation, if  not  in  his  English. 

We   found   the    Danish  brig   Thialfe  lying   snugly 


36  UPERNAVIK. 

moored  in  the  harbor,  and  we  anchored  close  beside 
her.  This  was  the  first  vessel  we  had  seen  since  leav- 
ing the  fishing-smacks  off  Cape  Cod.  She  was  taking 
in  oil  and  skins  for  Copenhagen,  and  her  commander, 
Mr.  Bordolf,  informed  me  that  he  expected  to  sail  in  a 
few  days, —  a  chance,  at  last,  for  letters  to  the  anx- 
ious ones  at  home. 

The  people  of  the  Colony  were  already  much  ex- 
cited over  the  arrival  of  the  "  Danske  skip,"  and  two 
vessels  in  the  port  at  once  was  a  sight  which  they  had 
not  for  a  long  time  witnessed.  The  moss-covered  hill 
which  slopes  from  the  town  to  the  beach  was  covered 
with  a  motley  group  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
presenting  quite  a  picturesque  appearance  as  we  ap- 
proached the  anchorage. 

Mr.  Hansen  received  me  with  true  Scandinavian 
heartiness ;  and,  escorting  me  to  the  government- 
house,  introduced  me  to  the  retiring  Chief  Trader, 
Dr.  Rudolph,  a  very  gentlemanly  representative  of 
the  Danish  Army,  who  was  about  returning  home  in 
the  Thialfe.  Over  a  jug  of  home-brewed  beer  and  a 
Dutch  pipe,  we  were  soon  discussing  the  prospect  of 
obtaining  dogs  and  the  state  of  the  ice  to  the  north- 
ward. 

Upernavik  differs  but  little  in  its  general  appear- 
ance from  Proven.  There  are  a  few  more  huts  and  a 
few  more  inhabitants ;  and,  from  being  the  residence 
of  the  Chief  Trader  for  the  "  Upernavik  district," 
which  includes  Proven  and  its  dependencies,  it  has 
attached  to  it  something  more  of  importance.  Per- 
haps this  is,  in  a  measure,  due  to  a  quaint  little  church 
and  a  parsonage.  To  the  parsonage  I  quickly  found 
my  way,  for  I  fancied  that  from  behind  the  neat  mus- 
lin curtains  of  its  odd  little  windows  I  detected  a 


THE   PARSONAGE.  37 

female  face.  1  tapped  at  the  door,  and  was  ushered 
into  a  cosy  little  apartment,  (the  fastidious  neatness  of 
which  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  sex  of  its  occupants,)  by 
the  oddest  specimen  of  woman-kind  that  ever  answered 
bell.  She  was  a  full-blown  Esquimau,  with  coppery 
complexion  and  black  hair,  which  was  twisted  into  a 
knot  on  the  top  of  her  head.  She  wore  a  jacket 
which  extended  to  her  waist,  seal-skin  pantaloons,  and 
boots  reaching  above  the  knees,  dyed  scarlet  and  em- 
broidered in  a  manner  that  would  astonish  the  girls 
of  Dresden.  The  room  was  redolent  of  the  fragrant 
rose  and  mignonette  and  heliotrope,  which  nestled  in 
the  sunlight  under  the  snow-white  curtains.  A  canary 
chirped  on  its  perch  above  the  door,  a  cat  was  purring 
on  the  hearth-rug,  and  an  unmistakable  gentleman 
put  out  a  soft  white  hand  to  give  me  welcome.  It 
was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Anton,  missionary  of  the  place. 
Mrs.  Anton  soon  emerged  from  a  snug  little  chamber 
adjoining.  Her  sister  came  in  immediately  afterward, 
and  we  were  soon  grouped  about  a  home-like  table ; 
a  genuine  bottle  of  Lafitte,  choice  coffee,  Danish  fare, 
and  Danish  heartiness,  quickly  made  us  forget  the 
hardships  of  our  cramped  life  in  the  little  tempest- 
tossed  schooner. 

My  visit  to  Mr.  Anton  had,  however,  an  association 
of  much  sadness.  A  valued  member  of  my  party, 
Mr.  Gibson  Caruthers,  had  died  during  the  previous 
night,  and  I  called  to  ask  the  missionary  to  officiate  at 
the  funeral  service.  His  consent  was  promptly  given, 
and  the  hour  of  burial  was  fixed  for  the  following 
day. 

The  burial  of  a  companion,  at  any  time  painful,  was 
doubly  so  to  us,  isolated  as  we  were  from  the  world. 
The  deceased  had  endeared  himself  to  all  on  board  by 


38  AN   ARCTIC   SEPULCHRE. 

his  excellent  qualities  of  head  and  heart;  and  the 
suddenness  of  his  death  made  the  impression  upon  his 
late  associates  all  the  more  keenly  felt.  He  had  re- 
tired the  night  before  in  perfect  health,  and  was  found 
dead  in  his  berth  next  morning.  To  the  expedition 
he  was  a  serious  loss.  Besides  Mr.  Sonntag,  he  was 
the  only  member  of  my  party  who  had  been  in  the 
Arctic  seas,  and  I  had  counted  much  upon  his  knowl- 
edge and  intelligence.  He  had  served  under  De  Haven 
in  the  First  Grinnell  Expedition  of  1850-51,  and  had 
brought  home  an  excellent  record  for  fortitude  and 
daring. 

The  burial-ground  at  Upernavik  is  a  sad  place  for 
human  sepulture.  It  lies  on  the  hill-side  above  the 
town,  and  is  dreary  and  desolate  past  description. 
It  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  rocky  steps,  on  which  lie, 
covered  over  with  piles  of  stones,  (for  there  is  no 
earth,)  a  few  rude  coffins,  —  mournful  resting-place 
for  those  who  sleep  here  their  last  sleep  in  the  everlast- 
ing winter.  The  body  of  poor  Caruthers  lies  upon  a 
ledge  overlooking  the  sea,  which  he  loved  so  well,  and 
the  beating  surf  will  sing  for  him  an  eternal  requiem. 

We  were  detained  four  days  at  Upernavik,  collect- 
ing dogs  and  accumulating  the  elements  of  an  Arctic 
wardrobe.  This  last  consisted  of  reindeer,  seal,  and 
dog  skins,  a  quantity  of  which  had  been  obtained  at 
Proven,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  native  women, 
to  be  converted  into  suitable  garments.  The  boots 
required  the  longest  time  to  manufacture.  They  are 
made  of  tanned  seal-skin,  sewed  with  sinew,  and  are 
"  crimped  "  and  fitted  to  the  foot  in  a  very  ingenious 
mariner.  When  properly  made  they  are  perfectly 
water-proof.  The  boot  worn  by  the  half-civilized  na- 
tive women  is  really  a  pretty  as  well  as  serviceable 


POPULATION   OF  UPERNAVIK.  39 

piece  of  cunning  needlework.  The  tanned  seal-skin, 
by  alternate  freezing  and  thawing,  and  exposure  to 
the  sun,  becomes  perfectly  bleached,  and  in  that  con- 
dition is  readily  stained  with  any  color  which  woman's 
caprice  may  suggest,  or  the  Chief  Trader  may  happen 
to  have  in  his  store-room.  The  women  of  Greenland 
are  not  exempt  from  the  graceful  vanities  of  other 
lands.  They  are  fond  of  gay  colors,  and  do  not  dis- 
dain admiration.  Red  boots,  or  white,  trimmed  with 
red,  seemed  to  be  most  in  vogue,  though,  indeed,  there 
is  no  more  an  end  to  the  variety  than  there  is  to  the 
strangeness  of  the  fancy  which  suggests  it.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  ludicrous  sight  than 
was  presented  by  the  crowd  of  red  and  yellow  and 
white  and  purple  and  blue  legged  women  who  crowded 
along  the  beach  as  we  entered  the  harbor. 

The  population  of  Upernavik  numbers  about  two 
hundred  souls,  comprising  about  twenty  Danes,  and  a 
larger  number  of  half-breeds,  the  remainder  being  na- 
tive Greenlanders,  that  is,  Esquimaux.  I  shall  have 
more  to  say  of  them  hereafter,  my  purpose  now  being 
to  carry  the  reader  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  scene 
of  our  explorations.  He  may  indeed  have  as  much 
anxiety  to  get  away  from  Upernavik  as  I  had. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Hansen,  I  obtained 
here  three  native  hunters,  and  also  an  interpreter. 
This  latter  had  taken  passage  by  the  Thialfe  for  Co- 
penhagen, but  he  could  not  withstand  the  tempting 
offer  which  I  made  him,  and  he  quickly  transferred 
himself  from  the  Danish  brig  to  our  crowded  cabin. 
He  was  a  hearty,  strong  man,  had  lived  in  Green- 
land for  ten  years ;  and,  being  more  than  usually  in- 
telligent, had  picked  up  on  board  the  English  whale- 
ships  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  English  language 


40  NEW  RECRUITb. 

to  insure  his  being  a  very  useful  member  of  my  part}/ 
in  the  event  of  our  falling  in  with  Esquimaux,  with 
whose  language  he  was  perfectly  familiar.  Besides, 
he  was  an  excellent  hunter  and  dog-driver ;  and,  by 
joining  me,  I  secured  his  team  of  dogs,  the  finest  in 
all  North  Greenland.  But  unfortunately  this  involved 
another  halt,  for  they  were  sixty  miles  up  the  coast, 
at  Tessuissak,  a  small  hunting  station  of  which  he  was 
Trader  at  the  time  of  obtaining  his  leave  of  absence 
to  go  home  for  the  year.  I  also  shipped  two  Danish 
sailors,  thus  increasing  my  party  to  twenty  souls.  As 
the  new  recruits  will  figure  frequently  in  these  pages, 
I  give  their  names :  — 

PETER  JENSEN,  Interpreter  and  dog-manager. 

CARL  EMIL  OLSWIG,  Sailor. 

CARL  CHRISTIAN  PETERSEN,  Sailor  and  Carpenter. 

PETER  (converted  Esquimau),  Hunter  and  dog-driver. 

MARCUS,      "  "  "  " 

JACOB,         «  "  "  « 

I  owe  much  to  the  kindly  disposition  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Upernavik.  Their  simple  though  cordial 
hospitality  was  a  refreshing  incident  of  our  cruise  ; 
and  the  constant  desire  to  supply  my  wants,  and  the 
pains  which  they  took  to  furnish  what  I  so  much 
needed,  is  gratefully  remembered.  If  those  in  author- 
ity had  allowed  me  to  shift  for  myself  I  should  have 
been  badly  off  indeed.  I  mention  it  to  their  credit 
that  they  refused  compensation  of  every  kind ;  and  it 
was  not  without  great  effort  that  I  could  prevail  upon 
any  of  them  to  accept  so  much  as  a  barrel  of  Hour  or 
a  box  of  canned  food.  "  You  will  want  them  more 
than  we,"  was  the  uniform  answer.  The  Chief  Trader 
actually  sent  aboard  a  present  I  had  made  him  in  re- 
turn for  the  fine  team  of  dogs  which  I  owed  to  his 
generosity. 


A  LUNCH  ON  BOARD.  4i 

It  was  in  some  measure  to  show  my  appreciation 
of  the  spirit  which  prompted  these  warm-hearted  peo- 
ple that  I  resolved  to  signalize  our  "departure  with  a 
lunch  to  the  representatives  of  King  Frederick  the 
Seventh,  at  this  most  northern  outpost  of  Christian 
settlement.  Accordingly  I  sent  my  secretary,  Mr. 
Knorr,  out  with  some  formal-looking  invitations,  got- 
ten up  in  all  the  dignity  of  Parisian  paper  and  rose- 
scented  wax.  He  came  back  in  a  few  hours  with 
three  couples.  Two  of  the  ladies  were  from  the  par- 
sonage ;  the  other  was  the  wife  of  the  Chief  Trader. 
Dr.  Rudolph,  Mr.  Hansen,  and  the  missionary,  were 
their  escorts.  The  master  of  the  Thialfe  was  already 
on  board. 

Meanwhile  our  old  Swedish  cook  had  gone  half 
crazy,  and  the  steward  kept  him  company.  To  pre- 
pare a  lunch  for  ladies  in  these  high  latitudes  was  not 
within  their  conception  of  the  hard-fisted  require- 
ments of  exploration  dignity.  They  "  could  not  un- 
derstand it."  The  steward  contrived,  however,  to 
stow  away  in  the  bunks  the  seal-skins  which  encum- 
bered the  cabin,  and  thus  got  rid  of  all  our  Greenland 
rubbish  but  the  odor.  But  it  was  not  until  the  clean 
white  table-cloth,  which  he  produced  from  some  out- 
of-the-way  locker,  was  covered  with  the  smoking  dishes 
which  his  ingenuity  had  contrived,  that  his  face  was 
lit  up  with  any  thing  approaching  the  kindly.  Being, 
however,  in  a  general  way  a  mild-mannered  man,  his 
ferocious  looks  did  not  materially  affect  the  progress 
of  the  preparations ;  and  the  solemn  face  with  which 
he  predicted,  in  great  confidence,  to  the  cook  that 
*such  folly  would  bring  us  all  to  ruin,  indeed  it 
would,"  at  length  wore  a  ghastly  smile,  and  finally 
exhibited  decided  manifestations  of  a  forgiving  dis- 


42  A  LUNCH  ON   BOARD. 

position.  Indeed,  he  was  in  the  end  very  proud  of  his 
"  spread." 

In  truth,  the  spread  was  .a  very  creditable  affair. 
The  contents  of  our  hermetically  sealed  cans  furnished 
a  welcome  variety  to  these  dwellers  in  the  land  of 
seals ;  the  lakes  of  Greenland  supplied  some  noble 
salmon,  and  my  lockers  contributed  something  from 
sunny  France  and  golden  Italy,  and  the  materials  for 
an  excellent  punch  from  Santa  Cruz.  At  first  we  got 
on  badly  with  the  conversation,  but  by  and  by  Eng- 
lish, Danish,  German,  and  bad  Latin  became  mixed 
harmoniously  together  like  the  ingredients  of  the 
punch ;  healths  were  drunk,  —  to  the  King,  to  the 
President,  to  all  good  fortune,  to  ourselves,  and 
speeches  were  made,  in  which  were  duly  set  forth 
the  glorious  memories  of  the  children  of  Odin.  The 
merriment  was  waxing  warm.  Some  one,  stimulated 
perhaps  by  a  recent  tribute  of  praise  to  the  valiant 
Harold  and  the  Russian  Maiden,  and  the  fights  and 
loves  of  the  vikings  generally,  had  just  proposed  that 
best  toast  of  the  sailor,  "  sweethearts  and  wives,"  and 
obtained  a  fitting  response,  when  the  heavy  thump 
of  a  pair  of  mammoth  sea-boots  was  heard  on  the 
companion-ladder,  and  the  master's  mate  broke  in 
upon  us  like  the  ghost  of  Banquo. 

"  The  officer  of  the  deck  directs  me  to  report,  sir, 
that  the  dogs  are  all  aboard,  sir,  and  that  he  is  hove 
short  on  the  anchor,  as  ordered,  sir." 

"  How  's  the  wind  ?  " 

"  Light,  and  southerly,  sir." 

There  was  no  help  for  it.  The  guests  must  be  got 
away.  The  ladies'  "  things  "  were  hunted  up  ;  the  la- 
dies themselves  were  hurried  over  the  gangway  into 
the  boat ;  Dr.  Rudolph  took  charge  of  our  letters. 


FAREWELL  TO  UPERNAVIK. 


43 


promising  to  deliver  them  to  the  American  consul  at 
Copenhagen ;  "  click,  click,"  went  the  windlass ;  up 
went  our  white  wings,  and  the  last  link  which  bound 
us  to  the  world  —  the  world  of  love  and  warm  skies 
and  green  meadows  —  was  fairly  broken,  when  we 
caught  from  the  hill-top  the  last  glimpse  of  a  gay 
ribbon  and  the  last  flutter  of  a  white  handkerchief. 


CHAPTER   V. 

AMONG    TI1E    ICEBERGS.  —  DANGERS    OP    ARQTIC    NAVIGATION.  —  A    NARROW 
ESCAPE   FROM  A  CRUMBLING  BERG.  — MEASUREMENT   OF  AN   ICEBERG. 

UPERNAVIK  is  not  less  the  limit  of  safe  navigation 
than  the  remotest  boundary  of  civilized  existence. 
The  real  hardships  of  our  career  commenced  before  its 
little  white  gabled  church  was  fairly  lost  against  the 
dark  hills  behind  it.  A  heavy  line  of  icebergs  was  dis- 
covered to  lie  across  our  course ;  and,  having  no  alter- 
native, we  shot  in  among  them.  Some  of  them  proved 
to  be  of  enormous  size,  upwards  of  two  hundred  feet 
in  height  and  a  mile  long ;  others  were  not  larger 
than  the  schooner.  Their  forms  were  as  various  as 
their  dimensions,  from  solid  wall-sided  masses  of  dead 
whiteness,  with  waterfalls  tumbling  from  them,  to  an 
old  weather-worn  accumulation  of  gothic  spires,  whose 
crystal  peaks  and  sharp  angles  melted  into  the  blue 
sky.  They  seemed  to  be  endless  and  numberless,  and 
so  close  together  that  at  a  little  distance  they  ap- 
peared to  form  upon  the  sea  an  unbroken  canopy  of 
ice ;  and  when  fairly  in  among  them  the  horizon  was 
completely  obliterated.  Had  we  been  in  the  centre 
of  the  Black  Forest,  we  could  not  have  been  more  ab- 
solutely cut  off  from  "  seeing  daylight."  As  the  last 
streak  of  the  horizon  faded  from  view  between  the 
lofty  bergs  behind  us,  the  steward  (who  was  of  a  po- 
etical turn  of  mind)  came  from  the  galley,  and  halting 


AMONG  THE  ICEBERGS.  45 

ror  an  instant,  cast  one  lingering  look  at  the  opening, 
and  then  dropped  through  the  companion  scuttle,  re- 
peating from  the  "  Inferno  "  :  — 

"  They  who  enter  here  leave  hope  behind." 

The  officers  were  calling  from  below  for  their  coffee, 
and  it  was  never  discovered  whether  the  steward  was 
thinking  of  the  cabin  or  the  icebergs. 

During  four  days  we  continued  threading  our  way 
through  this  apparently  interminable  labyrinth.  The 
days  passed  wearily  away,  for  the  wind,  at  best  but  a 
"cat's  paw,"  often  died  away  to  a  dead  calm,  leaving 
us  to  lounge  through  the  hours  in  a  chilly  fog  or  in 
the  broad  blaze  of  the  constant  daylight.  If  this  state 
of  things  had  its  novelty,  it  had  too  its  dangers  and 
anxieties. 

The  bergs,  influenced  only  by  the  under-currents, 
were,  to  us,  practically  stationary ;  and  the  surface 
flow  of  the  water  which  drifted  us  to  and  fro,  when 
we  lost  our  steerage-way,  rendered  our  situation  any 
thing  but  safe.  They  soon  came  to  be  looked  upon 
as  our  natural  enemies,  and  were  eyed  with  suspicion. 
We  were  often  drifted  upon  them,  and  escaped  not 
without  difficulty  and  alarm  ;  and  many  times  more 
we  saved  ourselves  from  collision  by  the  timely  low- 
ering of  the  boats  and  taking  the  schooner  in  tow,  or 
by  planting  an  ice-anchor  in  another  berg  and  warp- 
ing ourselves  into  greater  security.  Sometimes  we 
tied  up  to  a  berg  and  waited  for  the  w\nd-  We  had 
hard  work,  and  made  little  progress.  I  found  con- 
solation, however,  in  my  sketch-book,  which  was  in 
constant  use  ;  and  one  fine  day  I  got  out  my  photo 
graphic  apparatus.  Landing  on  a  neighboring  island, 
with  the  aid  of  my  two  young  assistants,  Eadcliffe  and 


46  PHOTOGRAPHING. 

Knorr,  I  made  my  first  trial  at  this  new  business.  It 
was  altogether  unsatisfactory,  except  to  convince  me 
that,  with  perseverance,  we  might  succeed  in  obtain- 
ing at  least  fair  pictures. 

Practically  I  knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  art.  Tt 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  me  that  I  could  not 
secure  for  the  expedition  the  services  of  a  professional 
photographer;  but  this  deficiency  did  not,  I  am  happy 
to  say,  prevent  me,  in  the  end,  from  obtaining  some 
views  characteristic  of  the  rugged  beauties  of  the  Arc- 
tic landscape.  We  had,  however,  only  books  to  guide 
us.  With  our  want  of  knowledge  and  an  uncomfort- 
able temperature  to  contend  with,  we  labored  under 
serious  disadvantages. 

Sonntag  went  ashore  with  me,  and  obtained  good 
sextant  sights  for  our  position,  and  some  useful  results 
with  the  magnetometer.  Knorr  added  to  my  collec- 
tion some  fine  specimens  of  birds.  The  gulls,  mol- 
limuks  and  burgomeisters,  the  chattering  kittiwake 
and  the  graceful  tern  were  very  numerous.  They 
fairly  swarmed  upon  the  bergs.  The  hunters  were 
often  out  after  eider-ducks,  large  flocks  of  which  con- 
gregate upon  the  islands,  and  sweep  over  us  in  long 
undulating  lines.  Seals,  too,  were  sporting  about  the 
vessel,  bobbing  their  intelligent,  almost  human-looking 
faces  up  and  down  in  the  still  water,  marks  for  the 
fatal  rifles  of  our  sportsmen.  They  looked  so  curi- 
ously innocent  while  making  their  inspections  of  us 
that  I  would  not  have  had  the  heart  to  kill  them, 
were  it  not  ifmt  they  \vere  badly  needed  for  the  dogs. 

We  led  a  strange  weird  sort  of  life,  —  a  spice  of 
clanger,  with  much  of  beauty  and  a  world  of  magnifi- 
cence. I  should  have  found  pleasure  in  the  lazy  hours, 
but  that  each  hour  thus  spent  was  one  taken  from  my 


IN  DANGER.  47 

• 

more  serious  purposes,  and  this  reflection  made  the 
davs  irksome  to  me. 

«/ 

Four  days  of  almost  constant  calm  would  tax  the 
patience  of  even  Job-like  resignation.  We  had  a 
breath  of  wind  now  and  then  to  tantalize  us,  treach- 
erous currents  to  keep  us  ever  anxious,  icebergs  al- 
ways threatening  us ;  now  at  anchor,  then  moored  to 
a  berg,  and  again  keeping  free  from  danger  through  a 
hard  struggle  with  the  oars.  We  had  many  narrow 
escapes,  one  of  which,  as  illustrating  a  peculiar  feature 
of  Arctic  navigation,  is  perhaps  worthy  of  more  par- 
ticular record. 

We  had  made  a  little  progress  during  the  night, 
but  soon  after  breakfast  the  wind  died  away,  and  the 
schooner  lay  like  a  log  upon  the  water.  Giving  too 
little  heed  to  the  currents,  we  were  eagerly  watching 
the  indications  of  wind  which  appeared  at  the  south, 
\nd  hoping  for  a  breeze,  when  it  was  discovered  that 
the  tide  had  changed,  and  was  stealthily  setting  us 
upon  a  nest  of  bergs  which  lay  to  leeward.  One 
of  them  was  of  that  description  known  among  tho 
crew  by  the  significant  title  of  "  Touch  me  not,"  and 
presented  that  jagged,  honey-combed  appearance  in 
dicative  of  great  age.  They  are  unpleasant  neigh 
bors.  The  least  disturbance  of  their  equilibrium  may 
cause  the  whole  mass  to  crumble  to  pieces,  and  woe 
be  unto  the  unlucky  vessel  that  is  caught  in  the  dis- 
solution. 

In  such  a  trap  it  seemed,  however,  that  we  stood  a 
fair  chance  of  being  ensnared.  The  current  was  car- 
rying us  along  at  an  uncomfortably  rapid  rate.  A 
boat  was  lowered  as  quickly  as  possible,  to  run  out  a 
line  to  a  berg  which  lay  grounded  about  a  hundred 
yards  from  us.  While  this  was  being  done,  \ve  grazed 


48  FIGHTING   AN   ICEBERG. 

• 

the  side  of  a  berg  which  rose  a  hundred  feet  above 
our  topmasts,  then  slipped  past  another  of  smaller 
dimensions.  By  pushing  against  them  with  our  ice- 
poles  we  changed  somewhat  the  course  of  the  schoon- 
er ;  but  when  we  thought  that  we  were  steering  clear 
of  the  mass  which  we  so  much  dreaded,  an  eddy 
changed  the  direction  of  our  drift,  and  carried  us  al- 
most broadside  upon  it. 

The  schooner  struck  on  the  starboard  quarter,  and 
the  shock,  slight  though  it  was,  disengaged  some  frag- 
ments of  ice  that  were  large  enough  to  have  crushed 
the  vessel  had  they  struck  her,  and  also  many  little 
lumps  which  rattled  about  us ;  but  fortunately  no  per- 
son was  hit.  The  quarter-deck  was  quickly  cleared, 
and  all  hands,  crowding  forward,  anxiously  watched 
the  boat.  The  berg  now  began  to  revolve,  and  was 
settling  slowly  over  us ;  the  little  lumps  fell  thicker 
and  faster  upon  the  after-deck,  and  the  forecastle  was 
the  only  place  where  there  was  the  least  chance  of 
safety. 

At  length  the  berg  itself  saved  us  from  destruction. 
An  immense  mass  broke  off  from  that  part  which  was 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  this,  a  dozen  times 
larger  than  the  schooner,  came  rushing  up  within  a  few 
yards  of  us,  sending  a  vast  volume  of  foam  and  water 
flying  from  its  sides.  This  rupture  arrested  the  revo- 
lution, and  the  berg  began  to  settle  in  the  opposite 
direction.  And  now  came  another  danger.  A  long 
tongue  was  protruding  immediately  underneath  the 
schooner ;  already  the  keel  was  slipping  and  grinding 
upon  it,  and  it  seemed  probable  that  we  should  be 
knocked  up  into  the  air  like  a  foot-ball,  or  at  least 
capsized.  The  side  of  our  enemy  soon  leaned  from  us, 
and  we  were  in  no  danger  from  the  worse  than  hail- 


PULLING   FOR   LIFE.  49 

SuOne-showers  which  had  driven  us  forward  ;  so  we 
sprang  to  the  ice-poles,  and  exerted  our  strength  in 
endeavoring  to  push  the  vessel  ofl.  There  were  no 
idle  hands.  Danger  respects  not  the  dignity  of  the 
quarter-deck. 

After  we  had  fatigued  ourselves  at  this  hard  labor 
without  any  useful  result,  the  berg  came  again  to  our 
relief.  A  loud  report  first  startled  us ;  another  and 
another  followed  in  quick  succession,  until  the  noise 
grew  deafening,  and  the  whole  air  seemed  a  reservoir 
of  frightful  sound.  The  opposite  side  of  the  berg  had 
split  ofi^  piece  after  piece,  tumbling  a  vast  volume  of 
ice  into  the  sea,  and  sending  the  berg  revolving  back 
upon  us.  This  time  the  movement  was  quicker ;  frag- 
ments began  again  to  fall;  and,  already  sufficiently 
startled  by  the  alarming  dissolution  which  had  taken 
place,  we  were  in  momentary  expectation  of  seeing 
the  whole  side  nearest  to  us  break  loose  and  crash 
bodily  upon  the  schooner,  in  which  event  she  would 
inevitably  be  carried  down  beneath  it ;  as  hopelessly 
doomed  as  a  shepherd's  hut  beneath  an  Alpine  ava- 
lanche. 

By  this  time  Dodge,  who  had  charge  of  the  boat, 
had  succeeded  in  planting  an  ice-anchor  and  attaching 
his  rope,  and  greeted  us  with  the  welcome  signal, 
"  Haul  in"  We  pulled  for  our  lives,  long  and  steadily. 
Seconds  seemed  minutes,  and  minutes  hours.  At 
length  we  began  to  move  off.  Slowly  and  steadily 
sank  the  berg  behind  us,  carrying  away  the  main- 
boom,  and  grazing  hard  against  the  quarter.  But  we 
we/e  safe.  Twenty  yards  away,  and  the  disruption 
occurred  which  we  had  all  so  much  dreaded.  The  side 
nearest  to  us  now  split  off,  and  came  plunging  wildly 
down  into  the  sea,  sending  over  us  a  shower  of  spray, 


50  CRUMBLING  ICEBERGS 

raising  a  swell  which  set  us  rocking  to  and  fro  as  if  in 
a  gale  of  wind,  and  left  us  grinding  in  the  debris  of  the 
crumbling  ruin. 

At  last  we  succeeded  in  extricating  ourselves,  and 
were  far  enough  away  to  look  back  calmly  upon  the 
object  of  our  terror.  It  was  still  rocking  and  rolling 
like  a  thing  of  life.  At  each  revolution  fresh  masses 
were  disengaged ;  and,  as  its  sides  came  up  in  long 
sweeps,  great  cascades  tumbled  and  leaped  from  them 
hissing  into  the  foaming  sea.  After  several  hours  it. 
settled  down  into  quietude,  a  mere  fragment  of  its  for- 
mer greatness,  while  the  pieces  that  were  broken  from 
it  floated  quietly  away  with  the  tide. 

Whether  it  was  the  waves  created  by  the  dissolu- 
tion which  I  have  just  described,  or  the  sun's  warm 
rays,  or  both  combined,  I  cannot  pretend  to  say,  but 
the  day  was  filled  with  one  prolonged  series  of  reports 
of  crumbling  icebergs.  Scarcely  had  we  been  moored 
in  safety  when  a  very  large  one  about  two  miles  dis- 
tant from  us,  resembling  in  its  general  appearance  th*» 
British  House  of  Parliament,  began  to  go  to  pieces. 
First  a  lofty  tower  came  plunging  into  the  water, 
starting  from  their  inhospitable  perch  an  immense 
flock  of  gulls,  that  went  screaming  up  into  the  air; 
over  went  another ;  then  a  whole  side  settled  squarely 
down ;  then  the  wreck  capsized,  and  at  length  after 
five  hours  of  rolling  and  crashing,  there  remained  of 
this  splendid  mass  of  congelation  not  a  fragment  that 
rose  fifty  feet  above  the  water.  Another,  which  ap- 
peared to  be  a  mile  in  length  and  upwards  of  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  split  in  two  with  a  quick,  shar,p, 
and  at  length  long  rumbling  report,  which  could 
hardly  have  been  exceeded  by  a  thousand  pieces  of 
artillery  simultaneously  discharged,  and  the  two  frag- 


EFFECTS  OF   DISSOLUTION.  51 

ments  kept  wallowing  in  the  sea  for  hours  before 
they  came  to  rest.  Even  the  berg  to  which  we  were 
moored  chimed  in  with  the  infernal  concert,  and  dis- 
charged a  corner  larger  than  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 

No  words  of  mine  can  adequately  describe  the  din 
and  noise  which  filled  our  ears  during  the  few  hours 
succeeding  the  encounter  which  I  have  narrated,  and 
therefore  I  borrow  from  the  "  Ancient  Mariner  "  :  — 

"  The  ice  was  here, 
The  ice  was  there, 

The  ice  was  all  around  ; 
It  creaked  and  growled, 
And  roared  and  howled 

Like  demons  in  a  swound." 

It  seemed,  indeed,  as  if  old  Thor  himself  had  taken 
a  holiday,  and  had  come  away  from  his  kingdom  of 
Thrudwanger  and  his  Winding  Palace  of  five  hun- 
dred and  forty  halls,  and  had  crossed  the  mountains 
with  his  chariot  and  he-goats,  armed  with  his  mace 
of  strength,  and  girt  about  with  his  belt  of  prowess, 
and  wearing  his  gauntlets  of  iron,  for  the  purpose 
of  knocking  these  Giants  of  the  frost  to  right  and 
left  for  his  own  special  amusement. 

It  is,  however,  only  at  this  season  of  the  year  that 
the  bergs  are  so  unneighborly.  They  are  rarely 
known  to  break  up  except  in  the  months  of  July  and 
August.  It  must  be  then  owing  to  an  unevenly 
heated  condition  of  the  interior  and  exterior,  caused 
by  the  sun's  warm  rays  playing  upon  them.  From 
the  sunny  side  of  a  berg  I  have  not  unfrequently  seen 
pieces  discharged  in  a  line  almost  horizontal,  with 
great  force,  and  with  an  explosive  report  like  a  quar- 
ryman's  blast.  These  explosions  and  the  crumbling 
of  the  ice  are  always  attended  with  a  cloud  of  vapor 


52  BEAUTIES   OF   THE   ICEBERGS. 

no  doubt  caused  by  the  colder  ice  of  the  interior  being 
brought  suddenly  in  contact  with  the  warmer  air. 
The  effect  is  often  very  remarkable  as  well  as  beauti- 
ful, especially  when  the  cloud  reflects  the  rays  of  the 
sun. 

If,  however,  my  pen  cannot  convey  a  picture  of 
these  icebergs  in  their  more  terrible  aspects,  it  will,  1 
fear,  be  equally  impotent  to  portray  their  wondrous 
beauties.  I  have  tried  it  once  before,  and  was  much 
dissatisfied  with  the  result.  I  had  then,  however,  a 
soft  sky,  when  the  whole  heavens  were  a  mass  of  rich, 
warm  color,  the  sea  a  dissolved  rainbow,  and  the  bergs 
great  floating  monoliths  of  malachite  and  marble 
bathed  in  flame.  Now  the  sky  was  gray,  the  air  clear, 
and  the  ice  everywhere  a  dead  white  or  a  cold  trans- 
parent blue. 

I  clambered  up  the  sloping  side  of  the  berg  to 
which  we  were  tied,  and,  from  an  elevation  of  nearly 
two  hundred  feet,  obtained  a  view  which  well  repaid 
me  for  the  trouble  of  the  venture.  I  am  glad  to  say, 
however,  that  I  came  down  again  before  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  tumbled  from  its  corner ;  an  event  which 
sent  us  drifting  away  to  a  less  uncomfortable  neigh- 
borhood, at  the  expense  of  an  ice-anchor  and  eighty 
fathoms  of  manilla  line. 

As  I  approached  the  berg,  I  was  struck  with  the 
remarkable  transparency  of  the  water.  Looking  over 
the  gunwale  of  the  boat,  I  could  trace  the  ice  stretch- 
ing downward  apparently  to  an  interminable  distance. 
Looking  back  at  the  schooner,  its  reflection  was  a  per- 
fect image  of  itself,  and  it  required  only  the  separation 
of  it  from  the  surrounding  objects  to  give  to  the  mind 
the  impression  that  two  vessels,  keel  to  keel,  were  float- 
ing in  mid-air.  This  singular  transparency  of  the  water 


VIEW  FROM  AN  ICEBERG.  53 

was  further  shown  when  I  had  reached  the  top  of  the 
berg.  Off  to  the  southeast  a  high  rocky  bluff  threw 
its  dark  shadow  upon  the  water,  and  the  dividing  line 
between  sunlight  and  shade  was  so  marked  that  it  re- 
quired an  effort  to  dispel  the  illusion  that  the  margin 
of  sunlight  was  not  the  edge  of  a  fathomless  abyss. 

It  is  difficult  for  the  mind  to  comprehend  the  im- 
mense quantity  of  ice  which  floated  upon  the  sea 
around  me.  To  enumerate  the  separate  bergs  was 
impossible.  I  counted  five  hundred,  and  gave  up  in 
despair.  Near  by  they  stood  out  in  all  the  rugged 
harshness  of  their  sharp  outlines  ;  and  from  this,  soft- 
ening with  the  distance,  they  melted  away  into  the 
clear  gray  sky ;  and  there,  far  off  upon  the  sea  of 
liquid  silver,  the  imagination  conjured  up  effigies  both 
strange  and  wonderful.  Birds  and  beasts  and  human 
forms  and  architectural  designs  took  shape  in  the  dis- 
tant masses  of  blue  and  white.  The  dome  of  St.  Pe- 
ter's loomed  above  the  spire  of  Old  Trinity  ;  and  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Pyramids  nestled  a  Byzantine  tower 
and  a  Grecian  temple. 

To  the  eastward  the  sea  was  dotted  with  little  islets, 
—  dark  specks  upon  a  brilliant  surface.  Icebergs, 
great  and  small,  crowded  through  the  channels  which 
divided  them,  until  in  the  far  distance  they  appeared 
massed  together,  terminating  against  a  snow-covered 
plain  that  sloped  upward  until  it  was  lost  in  a  dim 
line  of  bluish  whiteness.  This  line  could  be  traced 
behind  the  serrated  coast  as  far  to  the  north  and 
south  as  the  eye  would  carry.  It  Was  the  great  mer 
de  glace  which  covers  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
Greenland  Continent.  The  snow-covered  slope  was  a 
glacier  descending  therefrom,  —  the  parent  stem  from 
which  had  been  discharged,  at  irregular  intervals, 


54  TESSUISSAK. 

many  of  the  icebergs  which  troubled  us  so  much,  and 
which  have  supplied  materials  for  this  too  long  de- 
scription. 

At  length  a  strong  breeze  came  moaning  among 
the  bergs,  and  sent  us  on  our  way  rejoicing.  In  the 
evening  of  August  21st  we  were  moored  in  a  little 
harbor  scarcely  large  enough  for  the  schooner  to  turn 
round.  We  lay  abreast  of  a  rocky  slope  on  which 
were  pitched  a  few  seal-skin  tents,  inhabited  by  a  set 
of  well-to-do-looking  Esquimaux.  I  noticed  two  or 
three  native  huts,  overgrown  with  moss  and  grass,  and 
one,  better  looking  than  the  rest,  in  which  Jensen,  my 
interpreter,  informed  me  that  he  had  resided.  The 
place  is  called  Tessuissak,  which  means  "the  place 
where  there  is  a  bay."  Sonntag  went  ashore  with  his 
sextant  and  "  horizon,"  to  find  out  its  exact  position 
in  the  world,  an  event  which  had  not  before  come  to 
pass  in  its  history,  and  which  I  fear  was  not  duly  ap- 
preciated by  its  inhabitants. 

We  should  have  been  away  in  a  couple  of  hours ; 
but  Jensen  discovered  that  his  team  was  scattered, 
and  many  of  the  animals  could  not  be  found  until 
after  much  searching.  Meanwhile  some  ice  drifted 
across  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  hermetically 
sealed  us  up. 

At  last  the  dogs  were  all  aboard,  something  over 
thirty  in  number.  The  poor  ones  I  had  either  given 
away  or  exchanged,  and  we  had  four  superb  teams 
Thirty  wild  beasts  on  the  deck  of  a  little  schooner ! 
Think  of  it,  ye  who  love  a  quiet  life  and  a  tidy  ship ! 
Some  of  them  were  in  cages  arranged  along  the  bul- 
warks ;  others  running  about  the  deck ;  all  of  them 
badly  frightened,  and  most  of  them  fighting.  They 
made  day  and  night  hideous  with  their  incessant 
howling. 


MEASUREMENT   OF  AN   ICEBERG.  55 

We  were  all  ready  for  sea,  and  impatient  to  be  off. 
Our  Arctic  wardrobe  was  complete  with  a  few  pur- 
chases made  of  the  natives  in  exchange  for  pork  and 
beans.  We  were  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  ice  en- 
counters. The  lines  were  all  neatly  and  carefully 
coiled  ;  the  ice-anchors  and  ice-hooks  and  ice-saws  and 
ice-chisels  and  ice-poles  were  all  so  placed  that  they 
were  within  easy  reach  when  wanted.  The  capstan 
and  windlass  were  free,  and  Dodge,  who  had  not 
forgotten  his  naval  experience,  reported  "  the  decks 
cleared  for  action."  Would  the  tide  float  away  the  ice 
and  let  us  out? 

I  was  growing  very  restless.  The  season  was  mov- 
ing on  ;  already  ice  began  to  form  ;  the  temperature 
was  below  freezing.  The  nights  made  a  decided  scum 
on  the  fresh-water  pools.  I  could  count  upon  only 
fifteen  days  of  open  season.  The  Fox  was  frozen  up 
in  the  upack"  on  the  26th  of  August,  1857,  only  four 
days  later,  notwithstanding  her  advantage  of  steam- 
power. 

I  did  ever}7  thing  I  could  to  while  away  the  tedium 
of  this  detention.  I  tried  the  photographic  appara- 
tus, and  with  less  satisfactory  results  than  before.  I 
tried  dredging,  without  much  to  show  for  it ;  botaniz- 
ing, and  found  nothing  which  I  had  not  already  in 
my  Proven  and  Upernavik  collections.  The  flowers 
warned  me  of  the  approach  of  winter.  The  petals 
had  begun  to  fall,  and  their  drooping  heads  wore  a 
melancholy  look.  They  seemed  to  be  pleading  with 
the  chilly  air  for  a  little  longer  lease  of  life. 

One   thing  only  was   satisfactorily  done.     An  im 
rnense  iceberg  lay  off  the  harbor,  and  I  had  the  meas- 
urement of  it  in  my  note-book,  and  a  sketch  of  it  in 
my  portfolio.    The  square  wall  which  faced  toward  my 


56  HEADING   FOR  MELVILLE   BAY. 

base  of  measurement  was  three  hundred  and  fifteen  feet 
high,  and  a  fraction  over  three  quarters  of  a  mile  long. 
The  natives  told  me  that  it  had  been  grounded  for 
two  years.  Being  almost  square-sided  above  the  sea, 
the  same  shape  must  have  extended  beneath  it ;  and 
since,  by  measurements  made  two  days  before,  I  had 
discovered  that  fresh-water  ice  floating  in  salt  water 
has  above  the  surface  to  below  it  the  proportion  of 
one  to  seven,  this  crystalized  piece  of  Eric's  Greenland 
had  stranded  in  a  depth  of  nearly  half  a  mile.  A  rude 
estimate  of  this  monster,  made  on  the  spot,  gave  me 
in  cubical  contents  about  twenty-seven  thousand  mil- 
lions of  feet,  and  in  weight  something  like  two  thou- 
sand millions  of  tons.  I  leave  the  reader  to  calculate 
for  hmiself  its  equivalent  in  dollars  and  cents,  were 
it  transported  to  the  region  of  ice-creams  and  sherry- 
cobblers,  and  how  much  of  it  would  be  required  to 
pay  off  the  national  debt,  and  how  much  more  than 
half  a  century  it  would  withstand  the  attacks  of  the 
whole  civilized  world  upon  it,  for  all  those  uses  to 
which  luxury-loving  man  puts  the  skimmings  of  the 
Boston  ponds. 

The  tide  at  length  carried  off  the  ice  which  impris- 
oned us,  and  in  the  evening  of  the  22d  we  were  again 
threading  our  way  among  the  bergs  and  islands. 
Cape  Shackleton  and  the  Horse's  Head  lay  off  the 
starboard  bow,  and  we  were  shaping  our  course  for 
Melville  Bay. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RNTKRING  MELVILLE  BAY.— THE  MIDDLE  ICE.— THE  GREAT  POLAR  CURRENT 

—  A  SNOW  STORM  —ENCOUNTER  WITH  AN  ICEBERG. —MAKING  CAPE  YORK 

—  RESCUE  OF  HANS. 

THE  sun  was  now  no  longer  above  the  horizon  at 
midnight,  and  the  nights  were  growing  gloomy,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  warned  us  to  additional  carefulness. 

Notwithstanding  our  precautions,  we  narrowly  es- 
caped running  upon  a  sunken  reef  which  lies  off  the 
Horse's  Head,  and  is  not  laid  down  on  the  chart.  We 
came  also  among  some  ice-fields,  the  first  that  we  had 
yet  encountered.  The  waves  were  rolling  in  threat- 
eningly from  the  southwest,  and  the  ice,  tossing  madly 
upon  them,  gave  us  an  uncomfortable  sense  of  insecu- 
rity ;  but  we  escaped  into  clear  water  after  receiving 
a  few  thumps  which  did  no  material  damage  to  our 
solid  bows. 

By  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  had  Wilcox 
Point  clearly  in  view,  and  the  Devil's  Thumb  loomed 
above  a  light  cloud  which  floated  along  its  base.  Be- 
fore us  lay  Melville  Bay.  Climbing  to  the  fore-yard. 
I  swept  the  horizon  with  my  glass ;  —  there  was  no 
ice  in  sight  except  here  and  there  a  vagrant  berg. 
To  the  westward  an  "  ice-blink "  showed  us  that  the 
"  pack  "  lay  there  ;  but  before  us  all  was  clear,  —  noth- 
ing in  sight  but  the  "  swelling  and  limitless  billows." 

No  discovery  of  my  life  ever  gave  me  greater  grat- 
ification. The  fortunes  of  the  expedition  were,  at 


58  MELVILLE   BAY. 

least  for  the  present  year,  dependent  upon  an  open 
season,  and  my  most  sanguine  anticipations  did  not 
equal  the  apparent  reality. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  appreciate,  in  some 
measure,  the  satisfaction  which  I  took  in  the  prospect 
that  opened  before  me,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should 
here  pause  to  give  a  general  description  of  the  region 
we  were  about  to  traverse,  and  an  explanation  of 
the  physical  conditions  which  made  this  portion  of 
the  Greenland  waters  of  such  conspicuous  importance 
in  the  destinies  of  our  voyage. 

The  shores  of  Melville  Bay,  as  laid  down  on  the 
maps,  appear  as  a  simple  curved  line  of  the  Greenland 
coast ;  but  the  Melville  Bay  of  the  geographer  com- 
prehends much  less  than  that  of  the  mariner.  The 
whalers  have  long  called  by  that  name  the  expansion 
of  Baffin  Bay  which  begins  at  the  south  with  the 
"  middle  ice,"  and  terminates  at  the  north  with  the 
"North  Water."  The  North  Water  is  sometimes 
reached  near  Cape  York,  in  latitude  76°,  but  more 
frequently  higher  up;  and  the  "middle  ice,"  which 
is  more  generally  known  as  "the  pack,"  sometimes 
stretches  down  to  the  Arctic  Circle.  This  pack  is 
made  up  of  drifting  ice-floes,  .varying  in  extent  from 
feet  to  miles,  and  in  thickness  from  inches  to  fathoms. 
These  masses  are  sometimes  pressed  close  together, 
having  but  little  or  no  open  space  between  them ; 
and  sometimes  they  are  widely  separated,  depending 
upon  the  conditions  of  the  wind  and  tide.  They  are 
always  more  or  less  in  motion,  drifting  to  the  north, 
south,  east,  or  west,  with  the  winds  and  currents.  The 
penetration  of  this  barrier  is  usually  an  undertaking 
of  weeks  or  months,  and  is  ordinarily  attended  with 
much  risk. 


THE   MIDDLE    ICE.  59 

Since  the  days  when  Baffin  first  penetrated  these 
waters,  in  the  Discovery,  a  vessel  of  fifty-eight  tons  bur- 
den, (it  was  in  the  year  1616,)  a  fleet  of  whale-ships 
has  annually  run  this  gauntlet.  The  fleet  was  once 
large,  numbering  upwards  of  a  hundred  sail ;  but  of 
latter  years  it  has  been  reduced  to  less  than  one  tenth 
of  its  former  magnitude.  Great  though  the  danger,  it 
has  always  been  a  favorite  route  of  the  whale  fishers. 
Many  a  stout  ship  has  gone  down  with  her  sides  mer- 
cilessly crushed  in  by  the  "  thick-ribbed  ice ; "  but 
those  vessels  which  escape  disaster  almost  uniformly 
return  home  with  holds  well  filled  with  the  blubber 
and  oil  of  unlucky  whales  whose  evil  destiny  led  them 
to  frequent  the  waters  about  Lancaster  Sound,  Pond's 
Bay,  and  the  coasts  below. 

The  "  middle  ice  "  is  always  more  or  less  in  motion, 
and  is  never  tightly  closed  up,  even  in  midwinter. 
Of  this  we  have  abundant  proof  in  the  fate  of  the 
Steamer  Fox,  which  was  caught  towards  the  close  of 
the  autumn,  and  released  in  the  spring,  after  a  peril- 
ous winter  drift,  down  near  the  Arctic  Circle. 

As  the  summer  advances,  it  becomes  more  and  more 
broken  up ;  and,  little  by  little,  the  solid  land-belt,  which 
is  known  as  the  "fast"  or  "land-ice,"  is  encroached 
upon.  Of  this,  however,  there  usually  remains  a  nar- 
row strip  up  to  the  close  of  the  season.  To  it  the 
whalers  cling  most  tenaciously,  and  the  exploring  ves- 
sels have  usually  followed  their  example,  taking  al- 
ways the  last  crack  that  has  opened,  or,  as  they  call 
it,  the  "  in-shore  lead."  They  have  naturally  a  great 
horror  of  being  caught  in  the  "  pack."  The  "  fast  " 
gives  them  security  if  the  wind  brings  the  ice  down 
upon  them  from  the  westward,  for  they  can  always 
saw  a  dock  for  their  ships  in  the  solid  ice,  or  find  a 


60  THE   GREAT  POLAR  CURRENT. 

bight  in  which  to  moor  the  vessel.  They  have  always, 
too,  the  advantage  of  being  able,  when  the  ice  is  loose 
and  there  is  no  "wind,  to  tow  their  vessel  along  its 
margin  with  the  crew,  steam  being  rarely  used  by  the 
whalers. 

The  currents  have  much  to  do  with  the  formation 
of  this  barrier.  The  great  Polar  Current  coming  down 
through  the  Spitzbergen  Sea  along  the  eastern  coast 
of  Greenland,  laden  with  its  heavy  freight  of  ice,  and 
bringing  from  the  rivers  of  Siberia  a  meagre  supply 
of  drift-wood  to  the  Greenlanders,  sweeps  around  Cape 
Farewell  and  flows  northward  as  far  as  Cape  York, 
where  it  is  deflected  to  the  westward.  Joining  here 
the  ice-encumbered  current  which  comes  from  the 
Arctic  Ocean  through  Smith,  Jones,  and  Lancaster 
Sounds,  it  flows  thence  southward,  past  Labrador  and 
Newfoundland,  receives  on  its  way  an  accession  of 
strength  from  Hudson  Strait,  wedges  itself  in  between 
the  Gulf  Stream  and  the  shore,  gives  cool,  refreshing 
waters  to  the  bathers  of  Newport  and  Long  Branch, 
and  is  finally  lost  off  the  Capes  of  Florida. 

Now  it  will  readily  be  seen,  by  the  most  casual 
glance  at  any  map  of  Baffin  Bay,  that  this  movement 
of  the  current  forms,  where  the  middle  ice  is  found,  a 
sort  of  slow-moving  whirlpool,  and  this  it  is  which 
locks  up  the  ice  and  prevents  its  more  rapid  move- 
ment southward.  It  will  also  be  readily  understood 
that,  by  the  end  of  August,  the  pack  has  been  very 
materially  shorn  of  its  dimensions.  The  sun  above 
and  the  waters  beneath  have  both  eaten  it  away,  until 
much  of  it  has  disappeared  altogether,  and  all  of  it 
has  become  more  or  less  rotten.  The  month  of  Au- 
gust is  necessarily  the  most  favorable  period  of  the 
year  for  the  navigation  of  this  sea,  so  far  as  concerns 


A   SNOW-STORM.  61 

the  ice  ;  but  the  winter  is  then  near  at  hand,  and  pre- 
sents a  serious  source  of  danger ;  for  if  the  ice  once 
closes  around  you,  the  first  fall  of  temperature  may 
glue  you  fast  for  the  next  ten  months  to  come.  The 
whalers  usually  take  the  pack  in  May  or  June,  and 
even  sometimes  earlier,  when  the  ice  is  hard  and  is 
just  beginning  to  break  up. 

When  we  entered  Melville  Bay  there  were  but 
eight  days  remaining  to  us  of  the  month  of  August. 
I  had  to  regret  the  loss  of  time  at  the  settlements ; 
but  this  was  unavoidable.  Before  leaving  Upernavik  I 
had  resolved  upon  the  course  which  I  would  pursue,  — 
to  take  the  pack  whenever  we  should  find  it,  enter  it 
at  the  most  favorable  opening,  and,  without  looking 
for  the  land  ice,  to  make  the  most  direct  line  for  Cape 
York.  It  was  much  in  our  favor  that  the  wind  had 
prevailed  for  many  days  from  the  eastward,  and  had 
apparently  pushed  the  whole  pack  over  toward  the 
American  side,  opening  for  us  a  clear,  broad  expanse 
of  water.  Would  it  so  remain,  and  give  us  a  free 
passage  to  Cape  York  ?  I  have  already  said  that 
I  saw  its  reflection  over  the  clouds,  —  the  "  ice-blink  " 
to  the  westward.  It  was  not  far  away.  Would  it 
remain  so  ? 

While  reflecting  upon  the  chances  ahead  the  wind 
rose,  and  blew  half  a  gale.  A  heavy  sea  was  getting 
up  behind  us.  A  dark  cloud,  which  had  hung  upon 
the  southern  horizon  for  some  time,  came  climbing  up 
the  sky,  and  at  length  spreading  itself  out  in  flying 
fragments,  it  shook  over  us  a  shower  of  frozen  vapor, 
and  then  settled  into  a  regular  snow  storm.  Unable 
to  see  fifty  yards  on  either  side,  I  came  down  from  my 
uncomfortable  perch  on  the  fore-yard. 

It  became  now  a  subject  for  serious  consideration 


62  AN  ANXIOUS   NIGHT. 

whether  we  should  continue  on  in  our  course,  or  heave 
to  and  wait  for  better  weather.  In  either  case  we 
were  exposed  to  much  risk.  By  heaving  to,  the  ves- 
sel wrould  not  be  under  command  ;  and,  drifting 
through  the  gloom,  we  stood  a  fair  chance  of  settling 
upon  a  stray  berg  or  upon  the  ice-fields  which  we  had 
every  reason  to  suppose  would,  sooner  or  later,  ob- 
struct our  progress ;  besides,  and  it  was  not  an  unim- 
portant consideration,  we  lost  a  fine  wind.  On  the 
other  hand,  by  holding  on,  although  we  had  the  ves- 
sel under  control,  there  was  an  even  chance  that,  in 
the  event  of  ice  lying  in  our  course,  we  would  not  be 
able  to  see  it  through  the  thick  atmosphere  in  time  to 
avoid  it.  The  question  was,  however,  quickly  decided. 
Preferring  that  danger  which  had  some  energy  in  it, 
I  reefed  every  thing  down,  pointed  the  schooner's 
head  for  Cape  York,  and  went  at  it. 

I  paced  the  deck  in  much  anxiety  of  mind.  We 
were  traversing  a  sea  which  no  keel  had  ever  plowed 
before  without  meeting  ice,  and  why  should  better  for- 
tune be  in  store  for  our  little  craft.  The  air  was  so 
thick  that  I  could  sometimes  barely  see  the  lookout 
on  the  forecastle  ;  then  again  it  would  lighten  up,  and, 
underneath  the  broad  canopy  of  dark  -vapors,  which 
seemed  to  be  supported  by  the  icebergs  that  here  and 
there  appeared,  I  could  see  a  distance  of  several  miles. 
Then  again  the  air  became  thick  with  the  falling  snow 
and  rattling  hail;  the  wind  whistled  through  the  rig- 
ging, and  all  the  while  the  heavy  waves  were  rolling 
up  behind  us,  deluging  the  decks,  and  threatening  to 
swallow  us  up.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  our  first  ten 
hours  in  Melville  Bay. 

At  length,  after  a  few  hours  of  this  wild  running, 
my  ear,  which  was  keenly  alive  to  every  impression, 


ENCOUNTER  WITH  AN   ICEBERG.  63 

caught  the  sound  of  breakers.  The  lookout  gave  the 
alarm  a  moment  afterward. 

"Where  away?" 

"  I  can't  make  out,  sir." 

The  sound  came  from  an  object  which  was  evidently 
near  at  hand,  but  no  one  could  tell  where.  A  few  mo- 
ments more,  and  the  loom  of  an  iceberg  appeared  in 
our  course.  There  was  no  time  for  reflection,  and  it 
was  too  late  for  action.  To  haul  the  schooner  by  the 
wind  was  to  insure  our  plunging  broadside  upon  it ; 
and  so  indistinct  was  the  object  that  we  knew  not 
which  way  to  steer.  We  could  not  see  either  end  of 
it  or  its  top,  —  nothing  but  a  white  shimmer  and  a 
line  of  angry  surf. 

I  have  always  found  inaction  to  be  a  safe  course 
when  one  does  not  know  what  to  do ;  and  in  the  pres- 
ent case  that  course  saved  us.  Had  I  obeyed  my  first 
impulse,  and  put  the  helm  up,  we  should  have  gone 
straight  to  ruin ;  as  it  was,  we  slipped  past  the  ugly 
monster,  barely  escaping  a  collision  which,  had  it  oc- 
curred, would  have  been  instantly  fatal  to  the  vessel, 
and  of  course  to  every  one  on  board.  The  fore-yard 
actually  grazed  its  side,  and  the  surf  was  thrown  back 
upon  us  from  the  white  wall.  In  a  few  moments  the 
berg  was  swallowed  up  in  the  gloom  from  which  it 
had  so  suddenly  emerged. 

"A  close  shave,  that ! "  said  cool-headed  Dodge. 

"Ver — very  close,"  answered  Starr,  much  as  if 
he  had  just  received  the  first  shock  of  a  shower- 
bath. 

The  old  cook  was  called  out  of  his  galley  to  lend  a 
hand,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  he  was  heard 
to  growl  out,  "  I  don't  see  how  I 's  to  get  de  gentle- 
mens'  dinner  ready  if  I 's  to  be  called  out  of  my  galley 


64  CAPE  YORK  IN   SIGHT. 

in  dis  way  to  pull  and  haul  on  de  ropes."  He  did  not 
seem  to  have  a  thought  that  there  was,  a  moment 
before,  very  little  expectation  on  the  part  of  "de 
gentlemens "  that  any  of  them  would  have  further 
occasion  for  his  services. 

This  adventure  inspired  the  crew  with  greater 
confidence.  I  suppose  they  thought  that,  as  two 
cannon-balls  never  strike  in  the  same  spot,  another 
iceberg  would  not  very  likely  lie  in  our  course  ;  and 
so  it  fell  out.  The  cry  of  "  breakers  "  was  often  heard 
from  the  forecastle-deck,  but  in  the  end  the  sound 
proved  to  come  from  off  the  bow,  and  we  passed  on 
unharmed. 

At  length  the  wind  blew  itself  out,  the  snow  ceased 
falling,  the  clouds  broke,  the  sun  shone  out  brightly, 
and  we  lay  becalmed  not  far  from  the  centre  of  Mel- 
ville Bay.  The  snow  and  ice  were  shovelled  from  the 
deck  and  beaten  from  the  rigging.  I  went  aloft  again 
with  my  glass.  There  were  no  ice-fields  in  sight,  but 
the  reflection  of  them  was  still  visible  in  the  sky  to 
the  westward. 

The  sea  was  dotted  over  with  icebergs,  and  it 
seemed  wonderful  that  we  should  have  passed  safely 
between  them.  One  near  by  particulary  excited  my 
admiration.  It  was  a  perfect  "  triumphal  arch," 
through  which  the  schooner  might  have  passed  with 
perfect  ease. 

The  schooner  lay  motionless  during  the  night,  but 
early  in  the  morning  a  fair  wind  sent  us  again  upon  our 
course,  and  this  wind  held  steadily  through  the  day. 
Icebergs  rose  before  us  and  set  behind  us  in  solemn 
procession.  My  journal  designates  them  as  "  mile- 
stones of  the  ocean."  The  lofty,  snow-crowned  high- 
lands behind  Cape  York  rose  at  length  above  the 


IN  THE   NORTH  WATER.  65 

horizon,  and  the  bold,  dark- sided  cape  itself  was,  after 
a  while,  seen  "  advancing  in  the  bosom  of  the  sea." 

We  did  not  meet  any  field-ice  until  near  noon  of 
the  25th.  I  had  been  aloft  in  anxious  watching  dur- 
ing almost  all  of  the  whole  preceding  day  and  night ; 
but  when  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  we  should 
clear  Melville  Bay  without  a  single  brush  with  the 
enemy,  a  line  of  whiteness  revealed  itself  in  the  dis- 
tance. We  were  not  long  in  reaching  it,  and,  select- 
ing the  most  conspicuous  opening,  forced  our  way 
through.  It  proved  to  be  only  a  loose  "  pack  "  about 
fifteen  miles  wide,  and,  under  a  full  pressure  of  can- 
vas, we  experienced  little  difficulty  in  "  boring  "  it. 

And  now  we  were  in  the  "North  Water."  We  had 
passed  Melville  Bay  in  fifty-five  hours. 

Standing  close  in  under  Cape  York,  I  kept  a  careful 
lookout  for  natives.  The  readers  of  the  narrative  of 
Dr.  Kane  may  remember  that  that  navigator  took 
with  him  from  one  of  the  southern  settlements  of 
Greenland  a  native  hunter,  who,  after  adhering  to  the 
fortunes  of  the  expedition  through  nearly  two  years, 
abandoned  it,  (as  reported,)  for  a  native  bride,  to  live 
with  the  wild  Esquimaux  who  inhabit  the  shores  of 
the  headwaters  of  Baffin  Bay.  This  boy  was  named 
Hans.  Anticipating  that,  growing  tired  of  his  self- 
imposed  banishment,  he  would  take  up  his  residence 
at  Cape  York,  with  the  hope  of  being  picked  up  by 
some  friendly  ship,  I  ran  in  to  seek  him.  Passing 
along  the  coast  at  rifle-shot  I  soon  discovered  a  group 
of  huma-n  beings  making  signs  to  attract  attention. 
Heaving  the  vessel  to,  I  went  ashore  in  a  boat,  and 
there,  sure  enough,  was  the  object  of  my  search.  He 
quickly  recognized  Sonntag  and  myself,  and  called  us 
by  name. 


66  AX   ESQUIMAU   FAMILY. 

Six  years'  experience  among  the  wild  men  of  this 
barren  coast  had  brought  him  to  their  level  of  filthy 
ugliness.  His  companions  were  his  wife,  who  carried 
her  first-born  in  a  hood  upon  her  back ;  her  brother,  a 
bright-eyed  boy  of  twelve  years,  and  "an  ancient 
dame  with  voluble  and  flippant  tongue,"  her  mother. 
They  were  all  dressed  in  skins,  and,  being  the  first 
Esquimaux  we  had  seen  whose  habits  remained  wholly 
uninfluenced  by  contact  with  civilization,  they  were, 
naturally,  objects  of  much  interest  to  us  all. 

Hans  led  us  up  the  hill-side,  over  rough  rocks  and 
through  deep  snow-drifts,  to  his  tent.  It  was  pitched 
about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  in 
a  most  inconvenient  position  for  a  hunter ;  but  it  was 
his  "lookout."  Wearily  he  had  watched,  year  after 
year,  for  the  hoped-for  vessel ;  but  summer  after  sum- 
mer passed  and  the  vessel  came  not,  and  he  still  sighed 
for  his  southern  home  and  the  friends  of  his  youth. 

His  tent  was  a  sorry  habitation.  It  was  made  after 
the  Esquimau  fashion,  of  seal-skins,  and  was  barely 
large  enough  to  hold  the  little  family  who  were 
grouped  about  us. 

I  asked  Hans  if  he  would  go  with  us. 

"Yes!" 

Would  he  take  his  wife  and  baby. 

"Yes!" 

Would  he  go  without  them. 

"Yes!" 

Having  no  leisure  to  examine  critically  into  the 
state  of  his  mind,  and  having  an  impression  that  the 
permanent  separation  of  husband  and  wife  is  regarded 
as  a  painful  event,  I  gave  the  Esquimau  mother  the 
benefit  of  this  conventional  suspicion,  and  brought 
them  both  aboard,  with  their  baby  and  their  tent  and 


RESCUE  OF  HANS.  67 

all  their  household  goods.  The  old  woman  and  bright- 
eyed  boy  cried  to  be  taken  along ;  but  I  had  no  fur- 
ther room,  and  we  had  to  leave  them  to  the  care  of 
the  remainder  of  the  tribe,  who,  about  twenty  in 
number,  had  discovered  the  vessel,  and  came  shout- 
ing gleefully  over  the  hill.  After  distributing  to  them 
some  useful  presents,  we  pushed  off  for  the  schooner. 

Hans  was  the  only  unconcerned  person  in  the 
party.  I  subsequently  thought  that  he  would  have 
been  quite  as  well  pleased  had  I  left  his  wife  and  child 
to  the  protection  of  their  savage  kin;  and  had  I 
known  him  as  well  then  as,  with  good  reason,  I  knew 
him  afterward,  I  would  not  have  gone  out  of  my  way 
to  disturb  his  barbarous  existence. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HANS  AND  HIS  FAMILY.  —  PETOWAK  GLACIER.  —  A  SNOW-STORM.  —  THB  ICE- 
PACK.  —  ENTERING  SMITH'S  SOUND.  —  A  SEVERE  GALE.  —  COLLISION  WITH 
ICEBERGS.  —  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  ICE-FIELDS.  —  RETREAT  FROM  TUB 
PACK.— AT  ANCHOR  IN  HARTSTENE  BAY.  —  ENTERING  WINTER  QUARTERS. 

IT  was  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  I  reached 
the  schooner.  The  wind  had  freshened  during  our 
absence ;  and,  unwilling  to  lose  so  favorable  an  op- 
portunity for  pushing  on,  I  had  hastened  on  board. 
Otherwise  I  should  gladly  have  given  some  time  to 
an  examination  of  the  native  village  which  lies  a  few 
miles  to  the  eastward  of  the  cape,  on  the  northern 
side  of  a  conspicuous  bay,  near  a  place  called  Kiker- 
tait,  — "The  Place  of  Islands." 

In  anticipation  of  a  heavy  blow  and  a  dirty  night, 
McCormick  had,  during  my  absence,  taken  a  reef  in 
the  sails,  and  the  little  schooner,  with  her  canvas  shiv- 
ering in  the  wind,  seemed  impatient  as  a  hound  in  the 
leash.  When  the  helm  went  up,  she  wheeled  round 
to  the  north  with  a  graceful  toss  of  her  head,  and, 
after  steadying  herself  for  an  instant,  as  if  for  a  good 
start,  she  shot  off  before  the  wind  at  ten  knots  an 
hour.  Capes,  bays,  islands,  glaciers,  and  icebergs  sank 
rapidly  behind  us ;  and,  rejoicing  over  their  extraordi- 
nary fortune,  the  ship's  company  were  in  the  best  of 
spirits.  As  we  dashed  on  through  nest  after  nest  of 
icebergs,  it  was  curious  to  observe  the  evidences  of 
reckless  daring  which  inspired  their  thoughts.  Dodge 


A  HAZARDOUS  PASSAGE.  69 

had  the  deck,  and  Charley,  as  dare-devil  an  old  sailor 
as  ever  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  sea,  had  the  helm ; 
and  it  seemed  to  me,  as  I  sat  upon  the  fore-yard,  that 
there  was  some  quiet  understanding  between  the  two 
to  see  how  near  they  could  corne  to  the  icebergs  with- 
out hitting  them.  We  passed  through  many  narrow 
places ;  but  instead  of  finding  the  schooner  in  the 
middle  of  the  channel,  she  generally  managed  to  fall 
off  to  one  side  or  the  other  at  the  critical  moment  (of 
course,  by  mere  accident) ;  and  when  I  shouted  a  re- 
monstrance at  the  lubberly  steering,  I  was  answered 
with  the  assurance  that  the  schooner  would  not  obey 
her  helm  with  so  much  after-sail  on,  when  running  be- 
fore the  wind  ;  so  I  accordingly  hove  the  schooner  to, 
and  close-reefed  the  mainsail ;  and  now,  either  from 
the  want  of  a  reasonable  excuse  for  doing  otherwise, 
or  from  a  real  difficulty  being  overcome,  the  vessel 
was  made  to  keep  somewhat  nearer  to  a  straight 
course ;  and  we  dashed  on  through  the  waveless 
waters  with  a  celerity  which,  in  view  of  our  surround- 
ings, fairly  made  one's  head  swim. 

I  was  once  not  a  little  alarmed.  Before  us  lay  what 
appeared  to  be  two  icebergs  separated  by  a  distance 
of  about  twenty  fathoms.  To  go  around  them  was  to 
deviate  from  our  course,  and  I  called  to  •  Dodge  to 
know  if  he  could  steady  the  schooner  through  the 
narrow  passage.  Ever  ready  when  there  was  a  spice 
of  danger,  he  willingly  assumed  the  responsibility  of 
the  schooner's  behavior,  and  we  approached  the  en- 
trance ;  but,  when  it  was  too  late  to  turn  either  to  the 
right  or  left,  I  discovered,  much  to  my  amazement, 
that  the  objects  which  I  had  supposed  to  be  two  bergs 
were  in  fact  but  portions  of  the  same  mass,  connected 
together  by  a  link  which  was  only  a  few  feet  below 


70  HANS  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 

the  surface  of  the  water.  The  depth  of  water  proved, 
however,  to  be  greater  than  at  first  appeared,  but  the 
keel  actually  touched  twice  as  we  shot  through  the 
opening ;  and  while  the  schooner  was,  with  some  hes- 
itancy and  evident  reluctance,  doing  this  sledge  duty, 
I  must  own  that  I  wished  myself  anywhere  else  than 
on  her  fore-yard. 

The  officers  and  men  amused  themselves  with  our 
new  allies.  Hans  wras  delighted,  and  he  expressed 
himself  with  as  much  enthusiasm  as  was  consistent 
with  his  stolid  temperament.  His  wife  exhibited  a 
mixture  of  bewilderment  and  pride ;  and,  apparently 
overwhelmed  with  the  novelty  of  the  situation  in 
which  she  so  suddenly  found  herself,  seemed  to  have 
contracted  a  chronic  grin ;  while  her  baby  laughed 
and  crowed  and  cried  as  all  other  babies  do. 

The  sailors  set  to  work  at  once  with  tubs  of  warm 
water  and  with  soap,  scissors,  and  comb,  to  prepare 
them  for  red  shirts  and  other  similar  luxuries  of  civili- 
zation. At  this  latter  they  were  overjoyed,  and  strut- 
ted about  the  deck  with  much  the  same  air  of  exalted 
consequence  as  that  of  a  boy  who  has  been  freshly  pro- 
moted from  frock  and  shoes  to  pantaloons  and  boots  ; 
but  it  must  be  owned  that  the  soap-and-water  arrange- 
ment was  not  so  highly  appreciated ;  and  well  they 
might  object,  for  they  were  not  used  to  it.  At  first 
the  whole  procedure  seemed  to  be  great  sport,  but  at 
length  the  wife  began  to  cry,  and  demanded  of  her 
husband  to  know  whether  this  was  a  white  man's  re- 
ligious rite,  with  an  expression  of  countenance  which 
appeared  to  indicate  that  it  was  regarded  by  her  as  a 
refined  method  of  Christian  torture.  The  family  were 
finally  stowed  away  for  the  night  down  among  the 
ropes  and  sails  in  the  "ship's  eyes;"  and  one  of  the 


PETOWAK  GLACIER.  71 

sailors  who  played  chamberlain  on  the  occasion,  and 
who  appeared  to  be  not  overly  partial  to  this  increase 
of  our  family,  remarked  that,  "  If  good  for  nothing 
else,  they  are  at  least  good  lumber  for  strengthening 
the  schooner's  bows  against  the  ice." 

The  coast  which  we  were  passing  greatly  interested 
me.  The  trap  formation  of  Disco  Island  reappears 
at  Cape  York,  and  the  land  presents  a  lofty,  ragged 
front,  broken  by  deep  gorges  which  have  a  very  pic- 
turesque appearance,  and  the  effect  was  much  height- 
ened by  numerous  streams  of  ice  which  burst  through 
the  openings.  One  of  these  figures  on  the  chart  as 
Petowak  Glacier.  Measuring  it  as  we  passed  with 
log-line  and  chronometer,  it  proved  to  be  four  miles 
across.  The  igneous  rocks  are  interrupted  at  Cape 
Athol,  on  the  southern  side  of  Wolstenholme  Sound, 
and  the  lines  of  calcareous  sandstone  and  greenstone 
which  meet  the  eye  there  and  at  Saunders  Island  and 
the  coast  above,  toward  Cape  Parry,  brought  to  my 
recollection  many  a  hard  struggle  of  former  years. 
They  were  familiar  landmarks. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  were  abreast  of 
Booth  Bay,  the  winter  quarters  in  my  boat  journey 
of  1854.  I  could  distinguish  through  my  glass  the 
rocks  among  which  we  had  built  our  hut.  They  were 
suggestive  of  many  unpleasant  memories. 

Soon  afterward  the  sky  became  overcast,  and  a 
heavy  snow  began  to  fall.  The  wind  dying  away  to 
a  light  breeze,  we  jogged  on  through  the  day,  and, 
passing  Whale  Sound,  outside  of  Hakluyt  Island,  were, 
at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  within  thirty  miles  of 
Smith's  Sound.  Here  wre  came  upon  an  ice-pack  which 
appeared  to  be  very  heavy  and  to  stretch  off  to  the 
southwest;  bat  the  air  being  too  thick  to  warrant  us 


72  MEETING  THE   ICE   PACK. 

in  approaching  near  enough  to  inspect  its  character 
we  began  to  beat  to  windward  with  the  hope  of  reach- 
ing the  lee  side  of  Northumberland  Island,  there  to 

O  .  ' 

await  better  weather.  In  this  purpose  we  were,  how- 
ever, defeated,  for,  the  wind  falling  almost  to  calm,  we 
were  forced  to  grope  about  in  the  gloom,  seeking  an 
iceberg  for  a  mooring ;  but  the  waves  proved  to  be 
running  too  high  to  admit  of  our  landing  from  a  boat, 
and  we  passed  the  night  in  much  imeasiness,  drifting 
northward.  Fortunately  the  pack  was  moving  in  the 
same  direction,  otherwise  we  should  have  been  carried 
upon  it.  The  breakers  could  be  distinctly  heard  all 
the  time,  and  on  several  occasions  we  caught  sight  of 
them ;  but,  by  availing  ourselves  of  every  puff  of 
wind  to  crawl  off,  we  escaped  without  collision.  Once 
I  was  satisfied  that  we  had  no  alternative  but  to  wear 
round  and  plunge  head  foremost  into  the  danger, 
rather  than  await  the  apparent  certainty  of  drifting 
broadside  upon  it;  but  at  the  critical  moment  the 
wind  freshened,  and,  continuing  for  a  few  hours,  we 
held  our  own  while  the  pack  glided  slowly  away 
from  us. 

Our  dogs  had  made  a  heavy  drain  upon  our  water- 
casks,  and  the  watch  was  engaged  during  the  night  in 
melting  the  snow  which  had  fallen  upon  the  deck. 
We  also  fished  up  from  the  sea  some  small  fragments 
of  fresh  ice  with  a  net.  By  these  means  we  obtained 
a  supply  of  water  sufficient  to  last  us  for  several  days. 

The  wind  hauled  to  the  northeast  as  the  morning 
dawned,  and  the  clouds  broke  away,  disclosing  the 
land.  Cape  Alexander,  whose  lofty  walls  guard  the 
entrance  to  Smith's  Sound,  appeared  to  be  about 
twenty  miles  away,  and  Cape  Isabella,  thirty-five  miles 
distant  from  it.  was  visible  on  the  opposite  side.  Hold- 


ENTERING   SMITH'S   SOUND.  73 

mg  to  the  eastward  toward  Cape  Saumarez,  we  found 
a  passage  through  the  pack  near  the  shore,  but  after- 
ward the  greater  part  of  the  day,  was  passed  in  a  pro- 
voking calm,  during  which,  being  embarrassed  by  a 
strong  tidal-current  that  set  us  alternately  up  and 
down  the  coast,  we  were  obliged  almost  constantly  to 
use  the  boats  to  keep  ourselves  clear  of  the  bergs, 
which  were  very  numerous,  and  many  of  them  of  im- 
mense size.  We  were,  however,  at  length  gratified  to 
find  ourselves  passing  with  a  fair  wind  into  Smith's 
Sound,  the  field  of  our  explorations.  Standing  over 
toward  Cape  Isabella,  we  had  for  a  time  every  pros- 
pect of  good  fortune  before  us,  but  a  heavy  pack  was, 
after  a  while,  discovered  from  the  mast-head,  and  this 
we  were  not  long  in  reaching. 

This  pack  was  composed  of  the  heaviest  ice-fields 
that  I  had  hitherto  seen,  and  its  margin,  trending 
to  the  northeast  and  southwest,  arrested  our  further 
progress  toward  the  western  shore.  Many  of  the 
floes  were  from  two  to  ten  feet  above  the  water,  thus 
indicating  a  thickness  of  from  twenty  to  a  hundred 

o  «/ 

feet.  Had  they  been  widely  separated,  I  should  have 
attempted  to  force  a  passage ;  but  they  were  too 
closely  impacted  to  allow  of  this  being  done  with  any 
chance  of  safety  to  the  schooner. 

The  ice  appeared  to  be  interminable.  No  open 
water  could  be  discovered  in  the  direction  of  Cape 
Isabella.  The  wind,  being  from  the  northeast,  did  not 
permit  of  an  exploration  in  that  direction ;  so  we  ran 
down  to  the  southwest,  anxiously  looking  for  a  lead, 
but  without  discovering  a,ny  thing  to  give  us  encour- 
agement. 

We  were  not,  however,  permitted  to  come  to  any 
conclusions  of  our  own  as  to  what  course  we  should 


74  STOPPED  BY  THE  PACK. 

pursue,  for  the  most  furious  gale  that  it  has  evei 
been  my  fortune  to  encounter  broke  suddenly  upon 
us,  and  left  us  no  alternative  but  to  seek  shelter  under 
the  coast.  Our  position  was  now  one  of  great  danger. 
The  heavy  pack  which  we  had  passed  the  night  previ- 
ous lay  to  leeward  of  us,  and  was  even  visible  from 
the  mast-head,  thus  shutting  off  retreat  in  that  direc- 
tion, even  should  our  necessities  give  us  no  choice  but 
to  run  before  the  wind. 

The  entries  of  my  diary  will  perhaps  best  exhibit 
the  ineffectual  struggle  which  followed :  — 

August  28th,  3  o'clock,  P.  M. 

Blowing  frightfully.  We  have  run  in  under  the 
coast,  and  are  partly  sheltered  by  it,  and  trying  hard 
to  find  an  anchorage.  But  for  the  protection  of  the 
land  we  could  not  show  a  stitch  of  canvas.  We  are 
about  three  miles  from  Sutherland  Island,  which  lies 
close  to  Cape  Alexander,  on  its  south  side,  but  we 
have  ceased  to  gain  any  thing  upon  it.  We  can  carry 
so  little  sail  that  the  schooner  will  not  work  to  wind- 
ward ;  besides,  here  under  the  coast,  the  wind  cornes 
only  in  squalls.  If  we  can  only  get  in  between  the 
island  and  the  mainland  we  shall  be  all  right.  I  have 
not  been  in  bed  since  the  day  before  leaving  Tessuis- 
sak,  and  during  tl\ese  six  days  1  have  snatched  only 
now  and  then  a  little  sleep.  If  our  anchor  once  gets 
a  clutch  on  the  bottom  I  shall  make  up  for  lost  time. 

I  ought  to  have  been  more  cautious,  and  sought 
shelter  sooner.  A  heavy  white  cloud  hanging  over 
Cape  Alexander  (Jensen  calls  it  a  "table-cloth") 
warned  me  of  the  approaching  gale,  but  then  I  did 
not  think  it  would  come  upon  us  with  such  fury. 

It  is  a  perfect  hurricane.     My  chief  fear  is  that  we 


A  SEVERE  GALE.  75 

will  be  driven  out  to  sea?  which  is  everywhere  filled 
with  heavy  ice. 

August  29th,  12  o'clock,  M. 

There  has  been  a  dead  calm  under  the  coast  for  an 
hour.  The  "  table-cloth  "  has  lifted  from  the  cape,  and 
there  is  a  decided  change  in  the  northern  sky.  The 
light  windy  clouds  are  disappearing,  and  stratus  clouds 
are  taking  their  place.  The  neck  of  the  gale  appears 
to  be  broken. 

2  o'clock,  P.  M. 

My  calculations  of  the  morning  were  quite  wrong. 
The  gale  howls  more  furiously  than  ever.  We  are 
lying  off  Cape  Saurnarez,  about  two  miles  from  shore. 
Failing  to  reach  Sutherland  Island,  we  were  forced  to 
run  down  the  coast  with  the  hope  of  finding  shelter 
in  the  deep  bay  below ;  but  the  wind,  sweeping  round 
the  cape,  drove  us  back,  and  we  are  now  trying  to 
crawl  in  shore  and  get  an  anchor  down  in  a  little 
cove  near  by,  and  there  repair  our  torn  sails.  We 
are  a  very  uncomfortable  party.  The  spray  flies 
over  the  vessel,  sheathing  her  in  ice.  Long  icicles 
hang  from  the  rigging  and  the  bulwarks.  The  bob- 
stays  and  other  head-gear  are  the  thickness  of  a  man's 
body ;  and,  most  unseamanlike  procedure,  we  have  to 
throw  ashes  on  the  deck  to  get  about. 

I  can  now  readily  understand  how  Inglefield  was 
forced  to  fly  from  Smith's  Sound.  If  the  gale  which 
he  encountered  resembled  this  one,  he  could  not,  with 
double  the  steam-power  of  the  Isabella,  have  made 
headway  against  it.  Were  I  to  leave  the  shelter  of 
these  friendly  cliffs  I  should  have  to  run  with  even 
greater  celerity ;  —  and,  very  likely,  to  destruction. 

The  squalls  which  strike  us  are  perfectly  terrific, 
and  the  calms  which  follow  them  are  suggestive  of 


76  SEEKING    SHELTER. 

gathering  strength  for  another  stroke.  Fortunately 
the  blows  are  of  short  duration,  else  our  already  dam- 
aged canvas,  which  is  reduced  to  the  smallest  possible 
dimensions,  would  fly  into  ribbons. 

The  coast  which  gives  us  this  spasmodic  protection 
is  bleak  enough.  The  cliffs  are  about  twelve  hun- 
dred feet  high,  and  their  tops  and  the  hills  behind 
them  are  covered  with  the  recent  snows.  The  wind 
blows  a  cloud  of  drift  over  the  lofty  wall,  and,  after 
whirling  it  about  in  the  air,  in  a  manner  which,  under 
other  circumstances,  would  no  doubt  be  pretty  enough, 
drops  it  upon  us  in  great  showers.  The  winter  is  set- 
ting in  early.  At  this  time  of  the  season  in  1853-54 
these  same  hills  were  free  from  snow,  and  so  remained 
until  two  weeks  later. 

10  o'clock,  P.  M. 

We  have  gained  nothing  upon  the  land,  and  are  al- 
most where  we  were  at  noon.  The  gale  continues  as 
before,  and  hits  us  now  and  then  as  hard  as  ever. 
The  view  from  the  deck  is  magnificent  beyond  de- 
scription. The"  imagination  cannot  conceive  of  a 
scene  more  wild.  A  dark  cloud  hangs  to  the  north- 
ward, bringing  the  white  slopes  of  Cape  Alexander 
into  bold  relief.  Over  the  cliffs  roll  great  sheets  of 
drifting  snow,  and  streams  of  it  pour  down  every  ra- 
vine and  gorge.  Whirlwinds  shoot  it  up  from  the  hill- 
tops, and  spin  it  through  the  air.  The  streams  which 
pour  through  the  ravines  resemble  the  spray  of  mam- 
moth waterfalls,  and  here  and  there  through  the  fickle 
cloud  the  dark  rocks  protrude  and  disappear  and  pro- 
trude again.  A  glacier  which  descends  through  a  val- 
ley to  the  bay  below  is  covered  with  a  broad  cloak 
of  revolving  whiteness.  The  sun  is  setting  in  a  black 
and  ominous  horizon.  But  the  wildest  scene  is  upon 


A  WILD   SCENE.  77 

the  sea.  Off  the  cape  it  is  one  mass  of  foam.  The 
water,  carried  along  by  the  wind,  flies  through  the  air 
and  breaches  over  the  lofty  icebergs.  It  is  a  most 
wonderful  exhibition.  I  have  tried  in  vain  to  illus- 
trate it  with  my  pencil.  My  pen  is  equally  powerless. 
It  is  impossible  for  me  to  convey  to  this  page  a  pic- 
ture of  that  vast  volume  of  foam  which  flutters  over 
the  sea,  and,  rising  and  falling  with  each  pulsation  o\ 
the  inconstant  wind,  stands  out  against  the  dark  sky, 
or  of  the  clouds  which  fly  overhead,  rushing,  wild  and 
fearful,  across  the  heavens,  on  the  howling  storm. 
Earth  and  sea  are  charged  with  bellowing  sounds. 
Upon  the  air  are  borne  shrieks  and  wailings,  loud  and 
dismal  as  those  of  the  infernal  blast  which,  down  in 
the  second  circle  of  the  damned,  appalled  the  Italian 
bard  ;  and  the  clouds  of  snow  and  vapor  are  tossed 
upon  the  angry  gusts,  —  now  up,  now  down,  —  as 
spirits,  condemned  of  Minos,  wheel  their  unhappy 
flight  in  endless  squadrons, 

"  Swept  by  the  dreadful  hurricane  along." 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  cold  and  confusion  above 
is  the  warmth  and  quiet  here  below.  I  write  in  the 
officers'  cabin.  The  stove  is  red-hot,  the  tea-kettle 
sings  a  homelike  song.  Jensen  is  reading.  McCor- 
mick,  thoroughly  worn  out  with  wrork  and  anxiety, 
sleeps  soundly,  and  Knorr  and  Radcliffe  keep  him 
company.  Dodge  has  the  deck  ;  and  here  comes  the 
cook  staggering  along  with  his  pot  of  coffee.  I  will 
fortify  myself  with  a  cup. of  it,  and  send  Dodge  below 
for  a  little  comfort. 

The  cook  had  no  easy  task  in  reaching  the  cabin 
over  the  slippery  decks. 


78  A  CABIN   SCENE. 

"I  falls  down  once,  but  de  Commander  see  I  keep* 
de  coffee.  It 's  good  an'  hot,  and  very  strong,  and  go 
right  down  into  de  boots." 

"  Bad  night  on  deck,  cook." 

"  Oh,  it 's  awful,  sar !  I  never  see  it  blow  so  hard 
in  all  my  life,  an'  I  's  followed  de  sea  morn  'n  forty 
year.  And  den  it 's  so  cold.  My  galley  is  full  of  ice, 
and  de  water  it  freeze  on  my  stove." 

"  Here,  cook,  is  a  guernsey  for  you ;  that  will  keep 
you  warm." 

"  Tank  you,  sar ! "  —  and  he  starts  off  with  his  prize  ; 
but,  encouraged  by  his  reception,  he  stops  to  ask, 
"  Would  de  Commander  be  so  good  as  to  tell  me  where 
we  is  ?  De  gentlemens  fool  me." 

"  Certainly,  cook.  The  land  over  there  is  Green- 
land. That  big  cape  is  Cape  Alexander  ;  beyond  that 
is  Smith's  Sound,  and  we  are  only  about  eight  hun- 
dred miles  from  the  North  Pole." 

«  De  Nort'  Pole,  vere  's  dat  ?  " 

I  explained  the  best  I  could. 

"  Tank  you,  sar.     Vat  for  we  come  —  to  fish  ?  " 

"  No,  not  to  fish,  cook  ;  for  science." 

"  Oh,  dat  it  ?  Dey  tell  me  we  come  to  fish.  Tank 
you,  sar."  And  he  pulls  his  greasy  cap  over  his  bald 
head,  and  does  not  appear  to  be  much  wiser  as  he 
tumbles  up  the  companion-ladder  into  the  storm. 
Somebody  has  hoaxed  the  old  man  into  the  belief  that 
we  have  come  out  to  catch  seals. 

-August  30th,  1  o'clock,  A.  M. 

The  wind  is  hauling  to  the  eastward,  and  the 
squalls  come  thicker  and  faster.  We  are  drifting  both 
up  and  from  the  coast,  and  I  fear  that  if  we  recede 
much  further  we  shall  be  sent  howling  to  sea  under 


AT  ANCHOR.  79 

bare  poles.  It  is  not  a  pleasing  reflection  —  a  "  pack  " 
and  a  thousand  icebergs  to  leeward,  and  an  unman- 
ageable vessel  under  foot.  McCormick  is  struggling 
manfully  for  the  shore. 

10  o'clock,  A.  M. 

We  reached  the  shore  this  morning  at  3  o'clock, 
and  anchored  in  four  fathoms  water.  The  stern  of  the 
schooner  was  swung  round  and  moored  with  our  stout- 
est hawser  to  a  rock ;  but  a  squall  fell  upon  us  soon 
afterward  with  such  violence  that,  although  the  sails 
were  all  snugly  stowed,  the  hawser  was  parted  like 
a  whip-cord ;  and  we  now  lie  to  our  "  bower "  and 
"  kedge,"  with  thirty  fathoms  chain. 

And  now,  in  apparent  security,  the  ship's  company 
abandon  themselves  to  repose.  Weary  and  worn  with 
the  hard  struggle  and  exposure,  we  were  all  badly  in 
need  of  rest.  An  abundant  supply  of  hot  coffee  was 
our  first  refreshment.  But,  notwithstanding  their  fa- 
tigue, some  of  the  more  enthusiastic  members  of  the 
party  went  ashore,  so  anxious  were  they  to  touch  this 
far-north  land. 

8  o'clock,  P.  M. 

I  have  just  returned  from  a  tedious  climb  to  the 
top  of  the  cliffs.  At  an  elevation  of  twelve  hundred 
feet  I  had  a  good  view.  The  sea  is  free  from  ice 
along  the  shore  apparently  up  to  Littleton  Island, 
from  which  the  pack  stretches  out  over  the  North 
Water  as  far  as  the  eye  will  carry.  There  appears 
to  be  much  open  water  about  Cape  Isabella,  but  I 
could  not  of  course  see  the  shore  line.  Above  the 
cape  the  ice  appeared  to  be  solid.  Although  the  pros- 
pect is  discouraging,  I  have  determined  to  attempt  a 
passage  with  the  first  favorable  wind. 

The  journey  was  a  very  difficult  one,  and  when  I 


80  VIEW  FROM  THE  CLIFFS. 

had  reached  the  summit  of  the  cliff  I  was  almost 
blown  over  it.  The  force  of  the  Wind  was  so  great 
that  I  was  obliged  to  steady  myself  against  a  rock 
while  making  my  observations.  Knorr,  who  accom- 
panied me,  lost  his  cap,  and  it  went  sailing  out  over 
the  sea  as  if  a  mere  feather.  The  scene  was  but  a 
broader  panorama  of  that  which  I  described  in  this 
journal  yesterday.  It  was  a  grand,  wild  confusion  of 
the  elements.  The  little  schooner,  far  down  beneath 
me,  was  writhing  and  reeling  with  the  fitful  gusts, 
and  straining  at  her  cables  like  a  chained  wild  beast. 
The  clouds  of  drifting  snow  which  whirled  through 
the  gorges  beneath  me,  now  and  then  hid  her  and 
the  icebergs  beyond  from  view ;  and  when  the  air  fell 
calm  again  the  cloud  dropped  upon  the  sea,  and  the 
schooner,  after  a  short  interval  of  unrest,  lay  quietly 
on  the  still  wrater,  nestling  in  sunshine  under  the  pro- 
tecting cliffs. 

There  are  yet  some  lingering  traces  of  the  sum- 
mer. Some  patches  of  green  moss  and  grass  were 
seen  in  the  valleys,  where  the  snow  had  drifted  away ; 
and  I  plucked  a  little  nosegay  of  my  old  friends  the 
poppies  and  the  curling  spider-legged  Saxifraga  flagc- 
laris.  The  frost  and  snow  and  wind  had  not  robbed 
them  of  their  loveliness  and  beauty.  The  cliffs  are 
of  the  same  sandstone,  interstratified  with  green- 
stone, which  I  have  before  remarked  of  the  coast 
below. 

McCormick  has  replaced  the  old  foresail  which 
was  split  down  the  centre,  with  the  new  one,  and  has 
patched  up  the  mainsail  and  jib,  both  of  which  were 
much  torn. 

An  immense  amount  of  ice  has  drifted  past  us,  but 
we  are  too  far  in-shore  for  any  masses  of  considerable 


DRIVEN  FROM   SHELTER.  81 

size  to  reach  the  vessel.  Three  small  bergs  have, 
however,  grounded  in  a  cluster  right  astern  of  us, 
and  if  we  drag  our  anchors  we  shall  bring  up  against 
them.  A  perfect  avalanche  of  wind  tumbles  upon  us 
from  the  cliffs;  and  instead  of  coming  in  'squalls,  as 
heretofore,  it  is  now  almost  constant.  The  tempera- 
ture is  27°. 

I  made  a  trial  to-day  with  the  dredge,  but  nothing 
was  brought  up  from  the  bottom  except  a  couple  of 
echinoderms  (Asterias  Grrcenlandica  and  A.  Albida).  The 
sea  is  alive  with  little  shrimps,  among  which  the  Cran- 
gon  Boreas  is  most  abundant.  The  full-grown  ones  are 
an  inch  long,  and  their  tinted  backs  give  a  purplish 
hue  to  the  water.  » 

August  31st,  8  o'clock,  P.  M. 

Night  closes  upon  a  day  of  disaster,  —  a  day,  I 
fear,  of  evil  omen.  My  poor  little  schooner  is  terri- 
bly cut  up. 

Soon  after  making  my  last  entry  yesterday  I  lay 
down  for  a  little  rest,  but  Avas  soon  aroused  with  the 
unwelcome  announcement  that  we  were  dragging  our 
anchors.  Mc€ormick  managed  to  save  the  bower, 
but  the  kedge  was  lost.  It  caught  a  rock  at  a  criti- 
cal moment,  and,  the  hawser  parting,  we  were  driven 
upon  the  bergs,  which,  as  before  stated,  had  grounded 
astern  of  us.  The  collision  was  a  perfect  crash.  The 
stern  boat  flew  into  splinters,  the  bulwarks  over  the 
starboard-quarter  were  stove  in,  and,  the  schooner's 
head  swinging  round  writh  great  violence,  the  jib- 
boom  was  carried  away,  and  the  bowsprit  and  fore  top- 
mast were  both  sprung.  In  this  crippled  condition 
we  at  length  escaped  most  miraculously,  and  under 
bare  poles  scudded  before  the  wind.  A  vast  number 
of  icebergs  and  the  "  pack  "  coming  in  view,  we  were 
c 


82  BACK  IN  SMITH'S   SOUND. 

forced  to  make  sail.  The  mainsail  went  to  pieces  as 
soon  as  it  was  set,  and  we  were  once  more  in  great 
jeopardy ;  but  fortunately  the  storm  abated,  and  we 
have  since  been  threshing  to  windward,  and  are  once 
more  within  Smith's  Sound.  Again  the  gale  appears 
to  have  broken ;  the  northern  sky  is  clear.  Our  spars 
will  not  allow  us  to  carry  jib  and  topsail ;  —  bad  for 
entering  the  pack. 

The  temperature  is  22°,  and  the  decks  are  again 
slippery  with  ice.  Forward,  the  ropes,  blocks,  stays, 
halyards,  and  every  thing  else,  are  covered  with  a 
solid  coating,  and  icicles  a  foot  long  hang  from  the 
monkey-rail  and  rigging.  If  they  look  pretty  enough 
in  the  sunlight,  they  have  p,  very  wintry  aspect,  and 
are  not  at  all  becoming  to  a  ship. 

I  tried  this  morning  to  reach  Cape  Isabella,  but  met 
the  pack  where  it  had  obstructed  us  before.  Some 
patches  of  open  water  were  observed  in  the  midst  of 
it;  but  we  found  it  impossible  to  penetrate  the  inter- 
vening ice.  My  only  chance  now  is  to  work  up  the 
Greenland  coast,  get  hold  of  the  fast  ice,  and,  through 
such  leads  as  must  have  been  opened  by  the  wind 
higher  up  the  Sound,  endeavor  to  effect  a  passage  to 
the  opposite  shore.  Of  reaching  that  shore  I  do  not 
yet  despair,  although  the  wind  has  apparently  packed 
the  ice  upon  it  to  such  a  degree  that  it  looks  like  a 
hopeless  undertaking.  I  have  already  an  eye  upon 
Fog  Inlet,  twenty  miles  above  Cape  Alexander  on 
the  Greenland  coast,  and  I  shall  now  try  to  reach  that 
point  for  a  new  start.  • 

While  I  write  the  wind  is  freshening,  and  under 
close-reefed  sails  we  are  making  a  little  progress.  My 
poor  sailors  have  a  sorry  time  of  it,  with  the  stiffened 
ropes.  The  schooner,  everywhere  above  the  water,  is 


ENTERING   THE   PACK  83 

coated  with  ice.     The  dogs  are   perishing  with  cold 
and  wet.     Three  of  them  have  already  died. 

September  1st,  8  o'clock,  P.  M. 

We  have  once  more  been  driven  out  of  the  Sound. 
The  gale  set  in  again  with  great  violence,  and  in  the 
act  of  wearing  the  schooner,  to  avoid  an  iceberg,  the 
fore-gaff  parted  in  the  middle ;  and,  unable  to  carry 
any  thing  but  a  close-reefed  staysail,  we  were  forced 
again  to  seek  shelter  behind  our  old  protector,  Cape 
Alexander.  McCormick  is  patching  up  the  wreck  and 
preparing  for  another  struggle. 

The  next  two  days  were  filled  with  dangerous  ad- 
venture. The  broken  spar  being  repaired,  we  had 
another  fight  for  the  Sound,  and  got  again  inside.  The 
pack  still  lay  where  it  was  before,  and  again  headed  us 
off  There  was  a  good  deal  of  open  water  between 
Littleton  Island  and  Cape  Hatherton,  and  apparently 
to  the  northwest  of  that  cape ;  but  there  was  much 
heavy  ice  off  the  island,  with  tortuous  leads  separating 
the  floes.  I  determined,  however,  to  enter  the  pack 
and  try  to  reach  the  open  water  above.  Taking  the 
first  fair  opening,  we  made  a  northwest  course  for 
about  ten  miles,  when,  finding  that  we  were  unable  to 
penetrate  any  further  in  that  direction,  we  tacked 
ship,  hoping  to  reach  the  clear  water  that  Lay  above 
the  island. 

We  were  now  fairly  in  the  fight.  The  current  was 
found  to  be  setting  strongly  against  us,  and  it  was  soon 
discovered  that  the  ice  was  coming  rapidly  down  the 
Sound,  and  that  the  leads  were  already  slowly  closing 
up.  We  worked  vigorously,  crowding  on  all  the  sail 
\ve  could ;  but  we  did  not  make  our  point,  and  soon 


84  IN   THE   PACK. 

had  to  go  about  again ;  or  rather,  we  tried  to ;  for  the 
schooner,  never  reliable  without  her  topsail,  which  we 
could  not  carry  owing  to  the  accident  to  the  topmast, 
missed  in  stays  ;  and,  fearful  of  being  nipped  between 
the  fields  which  were  rapidly  reducing  the  open  water 
about  us,  we  wore  round  ;  and,  there  not  being  suffi- 
cient room,  we  were  on  the  eve  of  striking  with  the 
starboard-bow  a  solid  ice-field  a  mile  in  width.  There 
was  little  hope  for  the  schooner  if  this  collision  should 
happen  with  our  full  headway ;  and  being  unable  to 
avoid  it,  I  thought  it  clearly  safest  to  take  the  shock 
squarely  on  the  fore-foot ;  so  I  ordered  the  helm  up, 
and  went  at  it  in  true  battering-ram  style.  To  me 
the  prospect  was  doubly  disagreeable.  For  the  greater 
facility  of  observation  I  had  taken  my  station  on  the 

•/  •/ 

foretop-yard ;  and  the  mast  being  already  sprung  and 
swinging  with  my  weight,  I  had  little  other  expecta- 
tion than  that,  when  the  shock  came,  it  would  snap 
off  and  land  me  with  the  wreck  on  the  ice  ahead. 
Luckily  for  me  the  spar  held  firm,  but  the  cut-water 
flew  in  splinters  with  the  collision,  and  the  iron  sheath- 
ing was  torn  from  the  bows  as  if  it  had  been  brown 
paper. 

And  now  came  a  series  of  desperate  struggles.  No 
topsail-schooner  was  ever  put  through  such  a  set  of 
gymnastic  feats.  I  had  been  so  much  annoyed  by  the 
detentions  and  embarrassments  of  the  last  few  days 
that  I  was  determined  to  risk  every  thing  rather  than 
go  back.  As  long  as  the  schooner  would  float  I  should 
hope  still  to  get  a  clutch  on  Cape  Hatherton. 

Getting  clear  of  the  floe,  the  schooner  came  again 
to  the  wind,  and,  gliding  into  a  narrow  lead,  we  soon 
emerged  into  a  broad  space  of  open  water.  Had  this 
continued  we  should  soon  have  been  rewarded  with 


BESET.  85 

success,  but  in  half  an  hour  the  navigation  became  so 
tortuous  that  we  were  compelled  again  to  go  about 
and  stand  in-shore.  And  thus  we  continued  for  many 
hours,  tacking  to  and  fro,  —  sometimes  gaining  a  little, 
then  losing  ground  by  being  forced  to  go  to  leeward 
of  a  Hoe,  which  we  could  not  weather. 

The  space  in  which  we  could  manoeuvre  the  schooner 
became  gradually  more  and  more  contracted ;  the  col- 
lisions with  the  ice  became  more  frequent.  We  were 
losing  ground.  The  ice  was  closing  in  with  the  land, 
and  we  were  finally  brought  to  bay.  There  was  no 
longer  a  lead.  And  it  was  now  too  late  to  retreat, 
had  we  been  even  so  inclined.  The  ice  was  as  closelv 

«/ 

unpacked  behind  us  as  before  us.  With  marvelous 
celerity  the  scene  had  shifted.  An  hour  later,  and 
there  was  scarcely  a  patch  of  open  water  in  sight  from 
the  deck,  and  the  floes  were  closing  upon  the  schooner 
like  a  vice.  Utterly  powerless  within  its  jaws,  we  had 
no  alternative  but  to  await  the  issue  with  what  calm- 
ness we  could. 

The  scene  around  us  was  as  imposing  as  it  was 
alarming.  Except  the  earthquake  and  volcano,  there 
is  not  in  nature  an  exhibition  of  force  comparable 
with  that  of  the  ice-fields  of  the  Arctic  Seas.  They 
close  together,  when  driven  by  the  wind  or  by  cur- 
rents against  the  land  or  other  resisting  object,  with 
the  pressure  of  millions  of  moving  tons,  and  the  crash 
and  noise  and  confusion  are  truly  terrific. 

We  were  now  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  thrill- 
ing of  these  exhibitions  of  Polar  dynamics,  and  we  be- 
came uncomfortably  conscious  that  the  schooner  was  to 
become  a  sort  of  dynamometer.  Vast  ridges  were 
thrown  up  wherever  the  floes  came  together,  to  be 
submerged  again  when  the  pressure  was  exerted  in 


86  FORCE   OF   THE   ICE-FIELDS. 

another  quarter ;  and  over  the  sea  around  us  these 
pulsating  lines  of  uplift,  which  in  some  cases  reached 
an  altitude  of  not  less  than  sixty  feet, — higher  than 
our  mast-head,  —  told  of  the  strength  and  power  of 
the  enemy  which  was  threatening  us. 

We  had  worked  ourselves  into  a  triangular  space 
formed  by  the  contact  of  three  fields.  At  first  there 
was  plenty  of  room  to  turn  round,  though  no  chance 
to  escape.  We  were  nicely  docked,  and  vainly  hoped 
that  we  were  safe  ;  but  the  corners  of  the  protecting 
fioes  were  slowly  crushed  off,  the  space  narrowed  little 
by  little,  and  we  listened  to  the  crackling  and  crunch- 
ing of  the  ice,  and  watched  its  progress  with  conster- 
nation. 

At  length  the  ice  touched  the  schooner,  and  it  ap- 
peared as  if  her  destiny  was  sealed.  She  groaned  like 
a  conscious  thing  in  pain,  and  writhed  and  twisted  as 
if  to  escape  her  adversary,  trembling  in  every  timber 
from  truck  to  kelson.  Her  sides  seemed  to  be  giving 
way.  Her  deck  timbers  were  bowed  up,  and  the 
seams  of  the  deck  planks  were  opened.  I  gave  up 
for  lost  the  little  craft  which  had  gallantly  carried  us 
through  so  many  scenes  of  peril ;  but  her  sides  were 
solid  and  her  ribs  strong  ;  and  the  ice  on  the  port 
side,  working  gradually  under  the  bilge,  at  length, 
with  a  jerk  which  sent  us  all  reeling,  lifted  her  out  of 
the  water;  and  the  floes,  still  pressing  on  and  break- 
ing, as  they  were  crowded  together,  a  vast  ridge  was 
piling  up  beneath  and  around  us  ;  and,  as  if  with  the 
elevating  power  of  a  thousand  jack-screws,  we  found 
ourselves  going  slowly  up  into  the  air. 

My  fear  now  was  that  the  schooner  would  .fall  over 
on  her  side,  or  that  the  masses  which  rose  above  the 
bulwarks  would  topple  over  upon  the  deck,  and  bury 
us  beneath  them. 


THE    SCHOONER  IN  DANGER.  87 

We  lay  in  this  position  during  eight  anxious  hours. 

At  leiigth  the  crash  ceased  with  a  change  of  wind 
and  tide.  The  ice  exhibited  signs  of  relaxing.  The 
course  of  the  monster  floes  which  were  crowding  down 
the  Sound  was  changed  more  to  the  westward.  We 
beheld  the  prospect  of  release  with  joy. 

Small  patches  of  open  water  were  here  and  there 
exhibited  among  the  hitherto  closely  impacted  ice. 
The  change  of  scene,  though  less  fearful,  was  not  less 
magical  than  before.  By  and  by  the  movement  ex- 
tended to  the  floes  which  bound  us  so  uncomfortably, 
and  with  the  first  cessation  of  the  pressure  the  blocks 
of  ice  which  supported  the  forward  part  of  the  schooner 
gave  way,  and,  the  bows  following  them,  left  the  stern 
high  in  the  air.  Here  we  rested  for  a  few  moments 
quietly,  and  then  the  old  scene  was  renewed.  The 
further  edge  of  the  outer  floe  which  held  us  was 
caught  by  another  moving  field  of  greater  size,  when 
the  jam  returned,  and  we  appeared  to  be  in  as  great 
danger  as  before ;  but  this  attack  was  of  short  du- 
ration. The  floe  revolved,  and,  the  pressure  being 
almost  instantly  removed,  we  fell  into  the  water,  reel- 
ing forward  and  backward  and  from  side  to  side,  as 
the  ice,  seeking  its  own  equilibrium,  settled  headlong 
and  in  wild  confusion  beneath  us  from  its  forced  ele- 
vation. 

»  Freed  from  this  novel  and  alarming  situation,  we 
used  every  available  means  to  disengage  ourselves 
from  the  ruins  of  the  frightful  battle  which  we  had 
encountered ;  and,  as  speedily  as  possible,  got  into  a 
position  of  greater  safety.  Meanwhile  an  inspection 
was  made  to  ascertain  what  damage  had  been  done  to 
the  schooner.  The  hold  was  rapidly  filling  with  water, 
the  rudder  was  split,  two  of  its  pintles  were  broken  off, 


88  THE   SCIIOOXER   CRIPPLED. 

the  stern-post  was  started,  fragments  of  the  cut-water 
and  keel  were  floating  alongside  of  us  in  the  sea,  and, 
to  all  appearances,  we  were  in  a  sinking  condition. 

Our  first  duty  was  to  man  the  pumps. 

We  were  many  hours  among  the  ice,  tortured  with 
doubt  and  uncertainty.  We  had  to  move  with  great 
caution.  The  crippled  condition  of  the  schooner 
warned  us  to  use  her  gently.  She  would  bear  no 
more  thumps.  Forward  we  could  not  go,  because 
of  the  ice  ;  retreat  we  must,  for  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  we  should  get  to  the  land  and  find 
shelter  somewhere.  The  rudder  was  no  longer  availa- 
ble, and  we  were  obliged  to  steer  with  a  long  "  sweep." 

The  wind  hauled  more  and  more  to  the  eastward, 
and  spread  the  ice.  Although  at  times  closely  beset 
and  once  severely  u  nipped,"  yet,  by  watching  our  op- 
portunity, we  crept  slowly  out  of  the  pack,  and,  after 
twenty  anxious  hours,  got  at  last  into  comparatively 
clear  water,  and  headed  for  Hartstene  Bay.  where  we 
found  an  anchorage. 

The  damage  to  the  schooner  was  less  than  we  had 
feared.  A  more  careful  examination  showed  that  no 
timbers  were  broken,  and  the  seams  in  a  measure 
closed  of  themselves.  Once  at  anchor,  and  finding 
that  we  were  in  no  danger  of  sinking,  I  allowed  all 
hands  to  take  a  rest,  except  such  as  were  needed  at 
the  pumps.  They  were  all  thoroughly  worn  out.  • 

On  the  following  day  a  still  further  inspection  of 
the  vessel  was  made;  and,  although  apparently  unfit 
for  any  more  ice-encounters,  she  could  still  float  with 
a  little  assistance  from  the  pumps.  One  hour  out  of 
every  four  kept  the  hold  clear. 

Such  repairs  as  it  was  in  our  power  to  make  were 
\i  once  begun.  We  could  do  very  little  without 


ANOTHER   TRIAL.  89 

beaching  the  vessel,  and  this,  in  the  uncertain  state 
of  the  ice  and  weather,  was  not  practicable.  •  The  rud- 
der hung  by  one  pintle,  and  after  being  mended  was 
still  unreliable. 

While  McCormick  was  making  these  repairs  I  pulled 
up  to  Littleton  Island  in  a  whale-boat,  to  see  what  the 
ice  had  been  doing  in  our  absence.  The  wind  was 
dead  ahead,  and  we  had  a  hard  struggle  to  reach  our 
destination  ;  but,  once  there,  I  found  some  encourage- 
ment. There  was  much  open  water  along  the  coast 
up  to  Cape  Hatherton,  but  the  pack  was  even  more 
heavy  at  the  west  and  southwest  than  it  had  been  be- 
fore. To  enter  it  would  be  folly,  even  with  a  fair 
wind  and  a  sound  ship.  There  was  clearly  no  chance 
of  getting  to  the  west  coast,  except  by  the  course 
which  I  had  attempted  with  such  unhappy  results  two 
days  previous. 

We  were  not  a  little  surprised  to  discover  on  Little- 
ton Island  a  reindeer.  He  was  sound  asleep,  coiled 
up  on  a  bed  of  snow.  Dodge's  rifle  secured  him  for 
our  larder  and  deprived  the  desolate  island  of  its  only 
inhabitant. 

During  our  absence,  Jensen  had  been  out  with 
Hans,  and  had  also  discovered  deer.  They  had  found 
a  herd  numbering  something  like  a  dozen.  Two  of 
them  were  captured,  but  the  rest,  taking  alarm,  es- 
caped to  the  mountains. 

The  wind  falling  away  to  calm,  we  got  to  sea  next 
day  under  oars,  and  again  entered  the  pack.  More 
ice  had  come  down  upon  the  island,  and  all  our  efforts 
to  push  up  the  coast  were  unavailing.  The  air  had 
become  alarmingly  quiet,  considering  that  the  tem- 
perature was  within  twelve  degrees  of  zero,  and  there 
was  much  fear  that  we  should  be  frozen  up  at  sea. 


'JO  RETREAT   FROM   THE    PACK. 

A  snow-storm  came  to  add  to  this  danger ;  but  still 
we  kept  on  at  the  cold  and  risky  work  of  "  warping  " 
with  capstan  and  windlass,  whale-line  and  hawser, 
sometimes  making  and  sometimes  losing,  and  often 
pretty  severely  nipped. 

At  length  we  were  once  more  completely  "  be- 
set." The  young  ice  was  making  rapidly,  and  I  was 
forced  reluctantly  to  admit  that  the  navigable  season 
was  over.  To  stay  longer  in  the  pack  was  now  to  in- 
sure of  being  frozen  up  there  for  the  winter,  and  ac- 
cordingly, after  having  exhausted  two  more  days  of 
fruitless  labor,  we  made  what  haste  we  could  to  get 
back  again  into  clear  water.  This  was  not,  however, 
an  affair  to  be  quickly  accomplished.  He  who  navi- 
gates these  polar  seas  must  learn  patience. 

Our  purpose  was,  however,  in  the  end  safely  accom- 
plished, and,  a  breeze  springing  up,  we  put  back  into 
Hartstene  Bay ;  and,  steering  for  a  cluster  of  ragged- 
looking  islands  which  lay  near  the  coast  at  its  head, 
we  came  upon  a  snug  little  harbor  behind  them,  and 
dropped  our  anchors.  Next  morning  I  had  the 
schooner  hauled  further  in-shore,  and  moored  her  to 
the  rocks. 

Meanwhile  the  crew  were  working  with  anxious 
uncertainty ;  and  when  I  finally  announced  my  in- 
tention to  winter  in  that  place  they  received  the  intel- 
ligence with  evident  satisfaction.  Their  exposure  had 
been  great,  and  they  needed  rest ;  but,  notwithstand- 
ing this,  had  there  been  the  least  prospect  of  service- 
able result  following  any  further  attempt  to  cross  the 
Sound,  they  would,  with  their  customary  energy  and 
cheerfulness,  have  rejoiced  in  continuing  the  struggle. 
But  they  saw,  as  their  faces  clearly  told,  even  before  I 
was  willing  to  own  it,  that  the  season  was  over.  I  re- 


ENTERING   WINTER   HARBOR.  91 

cord  it  to  their  credit,  that  throughout  a  voyage  of  unu- 
sual peril  and  exposure  they  had  never  quailed  in  the 
presence  of  danger,  and  they  had  to  a  man  exhibited  the 
most  satisfactory  evidence  of  manly  endurance.  ' 

The  reader  will  readily  understand  that  to  me  the 
failure  to  cross  the  Sound  was  a  serious  disappoint- 
ment. Hoping,  as  heretofore  stated,  to  reach  the  west 
coast,  and  there  secure  a  harbor  in  some  convenient 
place  between  latitude  79°  and  80°,  it  was  evident  to 
me  that  in  failing  to  do  this  my  chances  of  success 
with  sledges  during  the  following  spring  were  greatly 
jeopardized.  Besides  —  and  this  to  me  was  the  most 
painful  reflection — my  vessel  was,  apparently,  so  badly 
injured  as  to  be  unfit  for  any  renewal  of  the  attempt 
the  next  year. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


HARBOR.  — PREPARING  FOR  1VTNTER.  —  ORGANIZATION  OF  DUTIES 
—  SCIENTIFIC  \VORK.-THE  OBSERVATORY.— SCHOONER  DRIVEN  A3110KE.— 
TIIE  HUNTERS.  —  SAWING  A  DOCK. —FROZEN  UP. 


I  NAMED  our-  harbor  Port  Foulke,  in  honor  of  my 
friend,  the  late  William  Parker  Foulke,  of  Philadel- 
phia, who  was  one  of  the  earliest,  and  continued  to 
be  throughout  one  of  the  most  constant  advocates 
of  the  expedition. 

It  was  well  sheltered  except  from  the  southwest, 
toward  which  quarter  it  was  quite  exposed ;  but. 
judging  from  our  recent  experience,  we  had  little 
reason  to  fear  wind  from  that  direction  ;  and  we  were 
protected  from  the  drift-ice  by  a  cluster  of  bergs  which 
lay  grounded  off  the  mouth  of  the  harbor. 

Our  position  was,  even  for  the  Greenland  coast,  not 
so  satisfactory  as  I  could  have  wished.  Had  I  reached 
Fog  Inlet  we  should  have  gained  some  advantages 
over  our  present  location,  and  would  have  been  in- 
deed better  situated  than  was  Dr.  Kane  at  Van  Rens- 
selaer  Harbor ;  and  we  would  then  be  as  sure  of  an 
early  liberation  as  we  were  likely  to  be  at  Port 
Foulke.  In  truth,  the  principal  advantage  which  it 
possessed  was  that  we  would  not  be  held  very  late  the 
next  summer,  and  there  was  no  possible  risk  of  my 
vessel  being  caught  in  a  trap  like  that  of  the  Advance. 
Besides  this  prospect  of  a  speedy  liberation  to  recora- 


OUR    WINTER  HARBOR.  93 

mend  it,  there  seemed  to  be  a  fair  chance  of  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  game. 

From  Dr.  Kane's  winter  quarters  we  were  not 
very  remote,  the  distance  being  about  twenty  miles  in 
latitude,  and  about  eighty  by  the  coast.  We  were 
eight  nautical  miles  in  a  northeasterly  direction  from 
Cape  Alexander,  and  lay  deep  within  the  recesses  of  a 
craggy,  cliff-lined  bight  of  dark,  reddish-brown  sienitic 
rock,  which  looked  gloomy  enough.  This  bight  is 
prolonged  by  three  small  islands  which  figure  in  my 
journal  as  "  The  Youngsters,"  and  which  bear  on  my 
chart  the  names  of  RadclifTe,  Knorr,  and  Starr.  At 
the  head  of  the  bight  there  is  a  series  of  terraced 
beaches  composed  of  loose  shingle. 

The  ice  soon  closed  around  us. 

My  chief  concern  now  was  to  prepare  for  the  win- 
ter, in  such  a  manner  as  to  insure  safety  to  the 
schooner  and  comfort  to  my  party.  While  this  was 
being  done  I  did  not,  however,  lose  sight  of  the  scien- 
tific labors ;  but,  for  the  time,  these  had  to  be  made 
subordinate  to  more  serious  concerns.  There  was 
much  to  do,  but  my  former  experience  greatly  simpli- 
fied my  cares. 

Mr.  Sonntag,  with  Radcliffe,  Knorr,  and  Starr  to  as- 
sist him,  took  general  charge  of  such  scientific  work 
as  we  found  ourselves  able  to  manage ;  and  Jensen, 
with  Hans  and  Peter,  were  detailed  as  an  organized 
hunting  force.  Mr.  Dodge,  with  the  body  of  the  crew, 
discharged  the  cargo,  and,  carrying  it  to  the  shore, 
swung  it  with  a  derrick  up  on  the  lower  terrace,  which 
was  thirty  feet  above  the  tide,  and  there  deposited  it 
in  a  store-house  made  of  stones  and  roofed  with  our 
old  sails.  This  was  a  very  laborious  operation.  The 
beach  was  shallow,  the  bank  sloping,  and  the  ice  not 


94  PREPARING  FOR  WINTER. 

being  strong  enough  to  bear  a  sledge,  a  channel  hail 
to  be  kept  open  for  the  boats  between  the  ship  and 
the  shore.  The  duty  of  preparing  the  schooner  for 
our  winter  home  devolved  upon  Mr.  McCormick,  with 
the  carpenter  and  such  other  assistance  as  he  required. 
After  the  sails  had  been  unbent,  the  yards  sent  down, 
and  the  topmasts  'housed,  the  upper  deck  was  roofed 
in, —  making  a  house  eight  feet  high  at  the  ridge  and 
six  and  a  half  at  the  side.  A  coating  of  tarred  paper 
closed  the  cracks,  and  four  windows  let  in  the  light 
while  it  lasted,  and  ventilated  our  quarters.  Between 
decks  there  was  much  to  do.  The  hold,  after  being 
floored,  scrubbed,  and  whitewashed,  was  converted 
into  a  room  for  the  crew ;  the  cook-stove  was  brought 
down  from  the  galley  and  placed  in  the  centre  of  it 
under  the  main  hatch,  in  which  hung  our  simple  appa- 
ratus for  melting  water  from  the  snow  or  ice.  This 
was  a  funnel-shaped  double  cylinder  of  galvanized 
iron  connecting  with  the  stove-pipe,  and  was  called 
the  "snow  melter."  A  constant  stream  poured  from 
it  into  a  large  cask,  and  we  had  always  a  supply  of 
the  purest  water,  fully  ample  for  every  purpose. 

Into  these  quarters  the  crew  moved  on  the  first  of 
October,  and  the  out-door  wo.rk  of  preparation  being 
mainly  completed,  we  entered  then,  with  the  cere- 
mony of  a  holiday  dinner,  upon  our  winter  life.  And 
the  dinner  was  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  Our  soup 
was  followed  by  an  Upernavik  salmon,  and  the  table 
groaned  under  a  mammoth  haunch  of  venison,  which 
was  flanked  by  a  ragout  of  rabbit  and  a  venison 
pasty. 

Indeed,  we  went  into  the  winter  with  a  most  en- 
couraging prospect  for  an  abundant  commissariat. 
The  carcasses  of  more  than  a  dozen  reindeer  were 


OUK   COMMISSARIAT.  05 

hanging  in  the  shrouds,  rabbits  and  foxes  were  sus- 
pended in  clusters  from  the  rigging,  and  the  hearty 
appetites  and  vigorous  digestions  which  a  bracing  air 
and  hard  work  had  given  us,  were  not  only  amply  pro- 
vided for  in  the  present,  but  seemed  likely  to  be  sup- 
plied in  the  future.  The  hunters  rarely  came  home 
empty-handed.  Reindeer  in  herds  of  tens  and  fifties 
were  reported  upon  every  return  of  the  sportsmen. 
Jensen,  who  had  camped  out  several  days  on  the 
hunting-grounds,  had  already  cached  the  flesh  of  about 
twenty  animals,  besides  those  which  had  been  brought 
on  board.  In  a  single  hour  I  had  killed  three  with 
my  own  hands.  Both  men  and  dogs  were  well  pro- 
vided. The  dogs,  which,  according  to  Esquimau  cus- 
tom, were  only  fed  every  second  day,  often  received 
an  entire  reindeer  at  a  single  meal.  They  were  very 
ravenous,  and,  having  been  much  reduced  by  their 
hard  life  at  sea,  they  caused  an  immense  drain  upon 
our  resources. 

My  journal  mentions,  with  daily  increasing  impa- 
tience, the  almost  constant  prevalence  of  strong  north- 
east winds,  which  embarrassed  us  during  this  period ; 
but  at  length  the  wind  set  in  from  the  opposite  direc- 
tion, and,  breaking  up  the  young  ice  about  us,  jammed 
us  upon  the  rocks.  t  If  there  was  little  consolation  in 
the  circumstance  of  our  situation  being  thus  altered 
for  the  worse,  there  was  at  least  novelty  in  the  ca- 
price of  the  weather.  For  once,  at  least,  the  uniform 
"  N.  E."  had  been  changed  in  the  proper  column  of  the 
log-book.  It  was  not  without  difficulty  that  we  suc- 
ceeded in  relieving  the  schooner  from  the  unpleasant 
predicament. 

While  these  preparations  for  the  winter  were  being 
made,  I  must  not  forget  the  astronomer  and  his  little 


90  THE   OBSERVATORY. 

corps.  Between  him  and  the  executive  officer  there 
sprung  up  quite  a  rivalry  of  interest.  While  the  one 
desired  a  clean  ship  moored  in  safety  and  a  well-fed 
crew,  he  was  naturally  jealous  of  any  detail  of  men 
for  the  other ;  and  it  must  be  owned  that  the  men 
worked  with  much  greater  alacrity  for  the  follower  of 
Epicurus  than  the  disciple  of  Copernicus.  An  appeal 
to  head-quarters,  however,  speedily  settled  the  ques- 
tion as  to  where  the  work  was  most  needed  ;  and,  by 
a  judicious  discrimination  as  to  what  was  due  to  sci- 
ence and  what  to  personal  convenience,  we  managed, 
while  the  daylight  lasted,  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a 

verv  clever  series  of  observations,  while  at  the  same 

i/ 

time  our  comfort  was  secured. 

A  neat  little  observatory  was  erected  on  the  lower 
terrace,  not  far  from  the  store-house,  and  it  was 
promptly  put  to  use  ;  and  an  accurate  survey  of  the 
harbor  and  bay,  with  soundings,  was  made  as  soon  as 
the  ice  was  strong  enough  to  bear  our  weight.  The 
observatory  was  a  frame  structure  eight  feet  square 
and  seven  high,  covered  first  with  canvas  and  then 
with  snow,  and  was  lined  throughout  with  bear  and 
reindeer  skins.  In  it  our  fine  pendulum  apparatus 
was  first  mounted,  and  Sonntag  and  Radcliffe  were 
engaged  for  nearly  a  month  in  counting  its  vibrations. 
It  was  found  to  work  admirably.  Upon  removing  this 
instrument,  the  magnetometer  was  substituted  in  its 
place,  upon  a  pedestal  which  was  not  less  simple  than 
original.  It  was  made  of  two  headless  kegs,  placed 
end  to  end  upon  the  solid  rock  beneath  the  floor,  and 
the  cylinder  thus  formed  was  filled  with  the  only  ma- 
terials upon  which  the  frost  had  not  laid  hold,  namely, 
beans.  Water  being  poured  over  these,  we  had  soon, 
at  ten  degrees  below  zero,  a  neat  and  perfectly  solid 


SCIENTIFIC  WORK.  97 

column  ;  and  it  remained  serviceable  throughout  the 
winter,  as  no  fire  of  any  kind  was  allowed  in  this 
abode  of  science.1 

In  order  to  obtain  an  accurate  record  of  tempera- 
ture, we  erected  near  the  Observatory  a  suitable  shel- 
ter for  the  thermometers.  In  this  were  placed  a  num- 
ber of  instruments,  mostly  spirit,  which  were  read 
hourly  every  seventh  day,  and  three  times  daily  in 
the  interval.2  In  addition  to  this,  we  noted  the  tem- 
perature every  second  hour  with  a  thermometer  sus- 
pended to  a  post  on  the  ice.  Mr.  Dodge  undertook 
for  me  a  set  of  ice  measurements,  and  the  telescope 
was  mounted  alongside  the  vessel,  in  a  dome  made 
with  blocks  of  ice  and  snow. 

But  the  wind  would  still  give  us  no  rest,  and,  set- 
ting in  again  from  a  southerlv  direction,  the  ice  was 

t_j  <_?  »/  / 

once  more  broken  up,  and  we  were  again  driven  upon 
the  rocks,  and  a  second  time  compelled  to  saw  a  dock 
for  the  schooner  and  haul  her  oft-shore.  This  opera- 
tion was  both  laborious  and  disagreeable,  even  more 
so  than  it  had  been  on  the  former  occasion.  The  ice 
was  rotten,  and  so  tangled  up  with  the  pressure  that 
it  was  not  easy  to  find  secure  footing  ;  and  the  result 
was  that  few  of  the  party  escaped  with  less  than  one 
good  ducking.  These  accidents  were,  however,  un- 

1  It  is  proper  to  mention  here  that  the  pendulum  and  magnetic  observa- 
tions, as  well  indeed  as  all  others  in  physical  science,  were,  upon  my  return, 
sent  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington,  and  were  placed  in  the 
very  competent  hands  of  Mr.  Charles  A.  Schott,  Assistant  in  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  most  able  and  efficient 
cooperation,  in  the  elaboration  and  discussion  of  my  materials,  preparatory 
to  their  publication  in  the  "  Smithsonian  Contributions,"  to  which  source  I 
beg  to  refer  the  reader  for  details. 

8  These  instruments  were  carefully  compared  at  every  ten  degrees  of 
temperature  down  to  — 40°,  and  the  records  were  subsequently  referred  to 
our  "  standard,"  a  fine  instrument  which  I  had  from  G.  Tagliabue. 
7 


98  DRIVEN  ASHORE   BY  THE  ICE. 

comfortable  rather  than  dangerous,  as  there  was  al- 
ways help  at  hand. 

The  schooner  was,  for  a  time,  in  rather  an  alarming 
situation,  and  there  were  many  doubts  as  to  whether 
we  should  get  her  off;  but  not  even  the  consciousness 
of  this  circumstance,  nor  the  repeated  plunges  into 
the  water  by  the  giving  way  and  tilting  of  the  ice, 
could  destroy  the  inexhaustible  fund  of  good-humor 
of  the  ship's  company.  From  this  happy  disposition 
I  must,  however,  except  two  individuals,  who  were 
always  apt  to  be  possessed  of  a  sort  of  ludicrous  grav- 
ity when  there  was  least  occasion  for  it,  and,  as  is 
usual  with  such  persons,  they  were  not  very  service- 
ably  employed.  One  of  them,  with  great  seriousness 
and  an  immense  amount  of  misdirected  energy,  com- 
menced chopping  into  my  best  nine-inch  hawser,  that 
was  in  nobody's  way ;  and  the  other,  with  equal  so- 
lemnity, began  vigorously  to  break  up  my  oars  in 
pushing  off  pieces  of  ice  which  were  doing  nobody 
any  harm.  He  even  tried  to  push  the  schooner  off 
the  rocks,  alone  and  unaided,  with  the  tide-pole,  an  in- 
strument which  had  cost  McCormick  two  days  to  man- 
ufacture. Of  course,  the  instrument  was  broken  ;  but 
the  poor  man  was  saved  from  the  sailing-master's  just 
indignation  by  following  the  fragments  into  the  sea, 
where  he  was  consoled,  in  the  place  of  prompt  assist- 
ance, with  assurances  that  if  he  did  not  make  haste 
the  shrimps  would  be  after  him,  and  leave  nothing  of 
him  but  a  skeleton  for  the  Commander's  collection. 
The  temperature  was  not  below  zero,  and  no  worse 
results  followed  our  exposure  than  a  slight  pleurisy 
to  the  mate  and  a  few  twitches  of  rheumatism  to  the 
destroyer  of  my  oars. 

Our  efforts  were,  however,  finally  rewarded  with 


FROZEN   UP.  90 

success,  and  the  schooner  was  once  more  in  safety. 
The  air  falling  calm,  and  the  temperature  going  down 
to  10°  below  zero,  we  were  now  soon  firmly  frozen  up, 
and  were  protected  against  any  further  accidents  of 
this  nature,  and  were  rejoiced  to  find  ourselves  able 
to  run  over  the  bay  in  security.  In  anticipation  of 
this  event,  I  had  set  Jensen  and  Peter  to  work  mak- 
ing harness  for  the  dogs,  and  on  that  day  I  took  the 
first  drive  with  one  of  mv  teams.  The  animals  had 

«/ 

picked  up  finely,  and  were  in  excellent  condition,  and 
I  had  satisfied  myself  both  as  to  their  qualities  and 
those  of  their  driver,  Jensen.  The  day  was  indeed  a 
lively  one  to  all  hands.  The  ice  having  closed  up 
firmly  with  the  land,  the  necessity  no  longer  existed 
for  keeping  a  channel  open  for  the  boats ;  and  the 
hunters,  being  able  now  to  get  ashore  with  ease,  set 
oft*  early  in  the  morning,  in  great  glee,  after  reindeer. 

On  the  day  following,  the  hawsers  by  which  we  had 
thus  far  been  moored  to  the  rocks  were  cut  out  of  the 
ice  and  elevated  on  blocks  of  the  same  material.  We 
also  made  a  stairway  of  slabs  of  this  same  cheap  Arc- 
tic alabaster,  from  the  upper  deck  down  to  the  frozen 
sea ;  and,  a  deep  snow  falling  soon  afterward,  we 
banked  this  up  against  the  schooner's  sides  as  a  fur- 
ther protection  against  the  cold. 

During  the  next  few  days  the  teams  were  employed 
in  collecting  the  reindeer  which  had  been  cached  in 
various  places,  and  when  this  labor  was  completed  our 
inventory  of  fresh  supplies  was  calculated  to  inspire 
very  agreeable  sensations. 

The  schooner  being  now  snugly  cradled  in  the  ice, 
we  had  no  longer  occasion  for  the  nautical  routine,  so 
I  adopted  a  landsman's  watch,  with  one  officer  and 
one  sailor;  the  sea  day,  which  commences  at  noon, 


100  THE   DAY   EXDED. 

was  changed  to  the  home  day,  which  begins  at  mid- 
night ;  and,  conscious  that  we  had  reached  the  divid- 
ing line  between  the  summer  sunlight  and  the  winter 
darkness,  we  settled  ourselves  for  the  struggle  which 
was  to  come,  resolved  to  get  through  it  with  the  cheer- 
fulness becoming  resolute  men,  and  to  make  ourselves 
as  comfortable  as  possible.  And  the  personal  charac- 
teristics of  my  associates  augured  well  for  the  future. 
While  there  was  sufficient  variety  of  disposition  to 
insure  a  continuance  of  some  novelty  in  our  social  in- 
tercourse, there  was  enough  esprit  to  satisfy  me  as  to 
the  continuance  of  harmony  in  the  performance  of 
individual  duty. 

The  sun  sank  out  of  sight  behind  the  southern  hills 
on  the  15th  of  October,  not  to  be  seen  again  for  four 
long  months.  The  circumstance  furnished  the  subject 
of  our  conversation  in  the  evening,  and  I  could  easily 
read  on  the  faces  of  my  companions  that  their  thoughts 
followed  him  as  he  wandered  south  ;  and  a  shade  of 
sadness  fell  for  a  moment  over  the  table  about  which 
we  were  grouped.  We  had  all  been  so  intent  upon 
our  cares  and  duties,  during  the  past  five  weeks,  that 
we  had  scarcely  noticed  the  decline  of  day.  It  had 
vanished  slowly  and  as  if  by  stealth  ;  and  the  gloom 
of  night  following  its  lengthening  shadow  made  us 
feel  now,  for  the  first  time,  how  truly  alone  we  were 
in  the  Arctic  desert. 


Mlfe* 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SUNSET.  —  WINTER  WORK.  — MY  DOG-TEAMS.— "  MY  BROTHER  JOHN'S  GLACIER." 

—  HUNTING.  —  PEAT  BEDS.  —  ESQUIMAU  GRAVES.  —  PUTREFACTION   AT  LOW 
TEMPERATURES.  —  SONNTAG   CLIMBS  THE   GLACIER.  —  HANS   AND   PETER.  — 
MY  ESQUIMAU   PEOPLE.  — THE  ESQUIMAU  DOG. —SURVEYING  THE  GLACIER. 

—  THE  SAILING-MASTER.  — HIS   BIRTHDAY   DINNER. 

MY  diary  thus  records  the  advent  of  winter :  — 

October  IGth. 

The  fair-haired  god  of  light  reposes  beneath  the 
Southern  Cross.  His  pathway  is  no  longer  above  the 
silent  hills;  but  his  golden  locks  stream  over  the 
mountains,  and  day  lingers  as  a  lover  departing  from 
the  abode  of  his  mistress.  The  cold-faced  regent  of 
the  darkness  treads  her  majestic  circle  through  the 
solemn  night ;  and  the  soft-eyed  stars  pale  at  her  ap- 
proach. Her  silver  tresses  sweep  the  sea,  and  the 
wild  waves  are  stilled  like  a  laughing  face  touched 
by  the  hand  of  death. 

Although  winter  and  darkness  are  slowly  settling 
over  us,  yet  we  have  still  nine  hours  of  twilight  daily, 
wherein  to  perform  our  out-door  duties.  I  have  com- 
pleted my  arrangements  for  the  health  and  comfort  of 
my  little  household,  and  have  perfected  my  system  of 
domestic  discipline  and  economy,  and  I  feel  sure  that 
the  wheels  of  the  little  world  which  revolves  around 
this  ice-locked  schooner  will  now  move  on  smoothly. 
This  done,  I  am  at  liberty  to  seek  greater  freedom  of 
action  than  I  have  hitherto  enjoyed.  I  have  desired  to 


102  MY   DOG-TEAMS. 

make  some  short  journeys  of  exploration  while  the 
scrap  of  twilight  yet  remains  to  me,  and  as  soon  as  the 
men  were  free  I  set  them  to  work  preparing  some 
conveniences  for  camping  out.  I  have  been  ready  for 
several  davs,  but  the  weather  has  been  unfavorable  for 

a'        « 

any  thing  more  than  a  few  hours'  absence ;  and  so  our 
life  runs  on  smoothly  into  the  night. 

I  had  to-day  a  most  exhilarating  ride,  and  a  very 
satisfactory  day's  work.  I  drove  up  the  Fiord  in  the 
morning,  and  have  returned  only  a  short  time  since. 
This  Fiord  lies  directly  north  of  the  harbor,  and  it 
forms  the  termination  of  Hartstene  Bay.  It  is  about 
six  miles  deep  by  from  two  to  four  wide.  Jensen  was 
my  driver,  and  I  have  a  superb  turn-out,  —  twelve 
dogs  and  a  fine  sledge.  The  animals  are  in  most 
excellent  condition,  —  every  one  of  them  strong  and 
healthy  ;  and  they  are  very  fleet.  They  whirl  my 
Greenland  sledge  over  the  ice  with  a  celerity  not  cal- 
culated for  weak  nerves.  I  have  actually  ridden  be- 
hind them  over  six  measured  miles  in  twenty-eight 
minutes ;  and,  without  stopping  to  blow  the  team, 
have  returned  over  the  track  in  thirty-three.  Sonn- 
tag  and  I  had  a  race,  and  I  beat  him  by  four  minutes. 
I  should  like  to  have  some  of  my  friends  of  Saratoga 
and  Point  Breeze  up  here,  to  show  them  a  new  style 
of  speeding  animals.  Our  racers  do  not  require  any 
blanketing  after  the  heats,  nor  sponging  either.  We 
harness  them  each  with  a  single  trace,  and  these  traces 
are  of  a  length  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  driver  —  the 
longer  the  better,  for  they  are  then  not  so  easily  tan- 
gled, the  draft  of  the  outside  dogs  is  more  direct,  and, 
if  the  team  comes  upon  thin  ice,  and  breaks  through, 
your  chances  of  escape  from  immersion  are  in  propor- 
tion to  their  distance  from  you.  The  traces  are  all  of 


MY  DOG-TEAMS.  .  103 

the  same  length,  and  hence  the  dogs  run  side  by  side, 
and,  when  properly  harnessed,  their  heads  are  in  a 
line.  My  traces  are  so  measured  that  the  shoulders 
of  the  dogs  are  just  twenty  feet  from  the  forward 
part  of  the  runners. 

The  team  is  guided  solely  by  the  whip  and  voice. 
The  strongest  dogs  are  placed  on  the  outside,  and  the 
whole  team  is  swayed  to  right  and  left  according  as 
the  whip  falls  on  the  snow  to  the  one  side  or  the  other, 
or  as  it  touches  the  leading  dogs,  as  it  is  sure  to  do  if 
they  do  not  obey  the  gentle  hint  with  sufficient  alacrity. 
The  voice  aids  the  whip,  but  in  all  emergencies  the  whip 
is  the  only  real  reliance.  Your  control  over  the  team 
is  exactly  in  proportion  to  your  skill  in  the  use  of  it. 
The  lash  is  about  four  feet  longer  than  the  traces,  and 
is  tipped  with  a  "  cracker  "  of  hard  sinew,  with  which 
a  skilful  driver  can  draw  blood  if  so  inclined ;  and  he 
can  touch  either  one  of  his  animals  on  any  particular 
spot  that  may  suit  his  purpose.  Jensen  had  to-day  a 
young  refractory  dog  in  the  team,  and,  having  had  his 
patience  quite  exhausted,  he  resolved  upon  extreme 
measures.  "  You  see  dat  beast  ?  "  said  Jie.  "  I  takes 
a  piece  out  of  his  ear;"  —  and  sure  enough,  crack 
went  the  whip,  the  hard  sinew  wound  round  the  tip 
of  the  ear  and  snipped  it  off  as  nicely  as  with  a  knife. 

This  long  lash,  which  is  but  a  thin  tapering  strip  of 
raw  seal-hide,  is  swung  with  a  whip-stock  only  two 
and  a  half  feet  long.  It  is  very  light  and  is  conse- 
quently hard  to  handle.  The  peculiar  turn  of  the 
wrist  necessary  to  get  it  rolled  out  to  its  destination 
is  a  most  difficult  undertaking.  It  requires  long  and 
patient  practice.  I  have  persevered,  and  my  perse- 
verance has  been  rewarded  ;  and  if  I  am  obliged  to 
turn  driver  on  emergency,  I  feel  equal  to  the  task  ; 


104  MY   DOG-TEAMS. 

but  I  fervently  hope   that  the   emergency  may  not 
arise  which  requires  me  to  display  my  skill. 

It  is  the  very  hardest  kind  of  hard  work.  That 
merciless  lash  must  be  going  continually ;  and  it  must 
be  merciless  or  it  is  of  no  avail.  The  dogs  are  quick 
to  detect  the  least  weakness  of  the  driver,  and  meas- 
ure him  on  the  instant.  If  not  thoroughly  convinced 
that  the  soundness  of  their  skins  is  quite  at  his 
mercy,  they  go  where  they  please.  If  they  see  a 
fox  crossing  the  ice,  or  come  upon  a  bear  track,  or 
"  wind  "  a  seal,  or  sight  a  bird,  away  they  dash  over 
snow-drifts  and  hummocks,  pricking  up  their  short 
ears  and  curling  up  their  long  bushy  tails  for  a  wild, 
wolfish  race  after  the  game.  If  the  whip-lash  goes 
out  with  a  fierce  snap,  the  ears  and  the  tails  drop, 
and  they  go  on  about  their  proper  business  ;  but  woe 
be  unto  you  if  they  get  the  control.  I  have  seen  my 
own  driver  only  to-day  sorely  put  to  his  metal,  and 
not  until  he  had  brought  a  yell  of  pain  from  almost 
every  dog  in  the  team  did  he  conquer  their  obstinacy. 
They  were  running  after  a  fox,  and  were  taking  us 
toward  what  appeared  to  be  unsafe  ice.  The  wind 
was  blowing  hard,  and  the  lash  was  sometimes  driven 
back  into  the  driver's  face,  —  hence  the  difficulty. 
The  whip,  however,  finally  brought  them  to  reason, 
and  in  full  view  of  the  game,  and  within  a  few  yards 
of  the  treacherous  ice,  they  came  first  down  into  a 
limping  trot  and  then  stopped,  most  unwillingly.  Of 
course  this  made  them  very  cross,  and  a  general  fight 
—  fierce  and  angry  —  now  followed,  which  was  not 
quieted  until  the  driver  had  sailed  in  among  them  and 
knocked  them  to  right  and  left  with  his  hard  hickory 
whip-stock.  I  have  had  an  adventure  with  the  same 
team,  and  know  to  my  cost  what  an  unruly  set  they 


<  a 


MY   DOG-TEAMS.  105 

are,  and  how  hard  it  is  to  get  the  mastery  of  them ; 
but  once  mastered,  like  a  spirited  horse,  they  are  obe- 
dient enough;  but  also,  like  that  noble  animal,  they 
require  now  and  then  to  have  a  very  positive  reminder 
as  to  whom  the  obedience  is  owing. 

Wishing  to  try  my  hand,  I  set  out  to  take  a  turn 
round  the  harbor.  The  wind  was  blowing  at  my  back, 
and  when  I  had  gone  far  enough,  and  wanted  to  wheel 
round  and  return,  the  dogs  were  not  so  minded. 
There  is  nothing  they  dislike  so  much  as  to  face  the 
wind  ;  and,  feeling  very  fresh,  they  were  evidently 
ready  for  some  sport.  Moreover,  they  may,  perhaps, 
have  wanted  to  see  what  manner  of  man  this  new 
driver  was.  They  were  very  familiar  with  him  per- 
sonally, for  he  had  petted  them  often  enough ;  but 
they  had  not  before  felt  the  strength  of  his  arm. 

After  much  difficulty  I  brought  them  at  last  up  to 
the  course,  but  I  could  keep  them  there  only  by  con- 
stant use  of  the  lash ;  and  since  this  was  three  times 
out  of  four  blown  back  into  my  face,  it  was  evident 
that  I  could  not  long  hold  out ;  besides,  my  face  was 
freezing  in  the  wind.  My  arm,  not  used  to  such  vio- 
lent exercise,  soon  fell  almost  paralyzed,  and  the  whip- 
lash trailed  behind  me  on  the  snow.  The  dogs  were 
not  slow  to  discover  that  something  was  wrong.  They 
looked  back  over  their  shoulders  inquiringly,  and,  dis- 
covering that  the  lash  was  not  coming,  they  ventured 
to  diverge  gently  to  the  right.  Finding  the  eifort 
not  resisted,  they  gained  courage  and  increased  their 
speed ;  and  at  length  they  wheeled  short  round, 
turned  their  tails  to  the  wind,  and  dashed  oft'  on  their 
own  course,  as  happy  as  a  parcel  of  boys  freed  from 
the  restraints  of  the  school-room,  and  with  the  wild 
rush  of  a  dozen  wolves.  And  how  they  danced  along 


106  ALIDA  LAKE. 

and  barked  and  rejoiced  in  their  short-lived  lib- 
erty! 

If  the  reader  has  ever  chanced  to  drive  a  pair  of 
unruly  horses  for  a  few  hours,  and  has  had  occasion 
to  find  rest  for  his  aching  arms  on  a  long,  steep  hill,  he 
will  understand  the  satisfaction  which  I  took  in  find- 
ing the  power  returning  to  mine.  I  could  again  use 
the  whip,  and  managed  to  turn  the  intractable  team 
among  a  cluster  of  hummocks  and  snow-drifts,  which 
somewhat  impeded  their  progress.  Springing  sud- 
denly off,  I  caught  the  upstarider  and  capsized  the 
sledge.  The  points  of  the  runners  were  driven  deeply 
into  the  snow,  and  my  runaways  were  anchored.  A 
vigorous  application  of  iny  sinew-tipped  lash  soon  con- 
vinced them  of  the  advantages  of  obedience,  and  when 
I  turned  up  the  sledge  and  gave  them  the  signal  to 
start  they  trotted  off  in  the  meekest  manner  possible, 
facing  the  wind  without  rebelling,  and  giving  me  no 
further  trouble.  I  think  they  will  remember  the  les- 
son—  and  so  shall  I. 

But  I  set  out  to  record  my  journey  up  the  Fiord. 
Reaching  the  head  of  it  after  a  most  exhilarating  ride, 
we  managed,  with  some  difficulty,  to  cross  the  tide- 
cracks,  and  scrambled  over  the  ice-foot  to  the  land. 
Here  we  came  upon  a  broad  and  picturesque  valley, 
bounded  on  either  side  by  lofty  cliffs  —  at  its  further 
end  lay  a  glacier,  with  a  pool  of  water  a  mile  long 
occupying  the  middle  distance.  This  pool  is  fed  from 
the  glacier  and  the  hill-sides,  down  which  pour  the 
waters  of  the  melting  snows  of  summer.  The  dis- 
charge from  it  into  the  sea  is  made  through  a  rugged 
gorge  which  bears  evidence  of  being  filled  with  a 
gushing  stream  in  the  thaw  season.  Its  banks  are 
lined  in  places  with  beds  of  turf,  (dried  and  hardened 


MY  BROTHER  JOHN'S  GLACIER.  107 

layers  of  moss,)  a  sort  of  peat,  with  which  we  can 
readily  eke  out  our  supply  of  fuel.  A  specimen  of  it 
brought  on  board  burns  quite  freely  with  the  addition 
of  a  little  grease.  This  pool  of  water,  in  accordance 
with  Sonntag's  wish,  bears  the  name  of  Alida  Lake. 

The  valley,  which  I  have  named  "Chester,"  in  re- 
membrance of  a  spot  which  I  hope  to  see  again,  is  two 
miles  long  by  one  broad,  and  is  covered  in  many  places, 
especially  along  the  borders  of  the  lake,  with  a  fine 
sod  of  grass,  from  which  the  wind  has  driven  the  snow 
and  made  the  locality  tempting  to  the  deer.  Several 
herds,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  something  like 
a  hundred  animals,  were  browsing  upon  the  dead  grass 
of  the  late  summer ;  and,  forgetting  for  the  time  the 
object  of  my  journey,  I  could  not  resist  the  tempta- 
tion to  try  my  rifle  upon  them.  I  was  rewarded  with 
two  large  fat  bucks,  while  Jensen  secured  an  equal 
number. 

The  glacier  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Kane  in  1855, 
and,  being  subsequently  visited  by  his  brother,  who 
was  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the  United  States  Expedi- 
tion of  Search  under  Captain  Hartstene  in  1855,  was 
named  by  the  former,  "  My  Brother  John's  Glacier." 
It  has  been  christened  a  shorter  name  by  the  crew, 
and  is  known  as  "  Brother  John."  It  has  frequently 
been  seen  from  the  hill-tops  and  bay  by  all  of  us,  but 
not  visited  until  to-day.  We  reached  home  in  time 
for  dinner,  weary  enough  and  very  cold,  for  the  tem- 
perature was  several  degrees  below  zero,  and  the  wind 
was  blowing  sharply. 

During  my  absence  McCormick  has  employed  the 
crew  in  securing  the  boats,  one  of  which  was  blown 
ashore  and  its  side  stove  in  by  the  violence  of  the 
gale,  and  in  sawing  out  and  unshipping  the  rudder. 


108  A  SURVEYOR'S  CHAIN. 

Huns  and  Peter  have  been  setting  fox-traps  and  shoot- 
ing rabbits.  The  foxes,  both  the  white  and  blue  vari- 
eties, appear  to  be  quite  numerous,  and  there  are  also 
many  rabbits,  or  rather  I  should  say  hares.  These 
latter  are  covered  with  a  long  heavy  pelt  which  is  a 
pure  white,  and  are  very  large.  One  caught  to-day 
weighed  eight  pounds. 

October  17th. 

McCormick,  who  is  general  tinker  and  the  very  em- 
bodiment of  ingenuity,  has  been  making  for  me  a  sur- 
veyor's chain  out  of  some  iron  rods ;  and  a  party,  con- 
sisting of  Sonntag,  McCormick,  Dodge,  Radcliife,  and 
Starr,  have  been  surveying  the  bay  and  harbor  with 
this  chain  and  the  theodolite.  They  seem  to  have 
made  quite  a  frolic  of  it,  which,  considering  the  de- 
pressed state  of  the  thermometer,  is,  I  think,  a  very 
commendable  circumstance.  Barnum  and  McDonald 
have  been  given  a  holiday,  and  they  went  out  with 
shot-guns  after  reindeer.  They  report  having  seen 
forty-six,  all  of  which  they  succeeded  in  badly  fright- 
ening, and  they  also  started  many  foxes.  Charley 
also  had  a  holiday,  but,  disdaining  the  huntsman's 
weapons,  he  started  on  a  "voyage  of  discovery,"  as  he 
styled  it.  Strolling  down  into  the  bay  above  Crystal 
Palace  Cliffs,1  he  came  upon  an  old  Esquimau  settle- 
ment, and,  finding  a  grave,  robbed  it  of  its  bony  con- 
tents, and  brought  them  to  me  wrapped  up  in  his  coat. 
It  makes  a  very  valuable  addition  to  my  ethnological 
collection,  and  a  glass  of  grog  and  the  promise  of 
other  holidays  have  secured  the  cooperation  of  Char- 
ley in  this  branch  of  science.  Charley,  by  the  way, 
is  one  of  my  most  reliable  men,  and  gives  promise  of 

1  Discovered  and  so  named   by  Captain  Inglefield,  R.  N.,  in  Augu?t, 
1852. 


ESQUIMAU  GRAVES.  109 

great  usefulness.  Indeed,  everybody  in  the  vessel 
seems  desirous  of  adding  to  my  collections ;  but  this 
zeal  has  to-day  led  me  into  a  rather  unpleasant  embar- 
rassment. Jensen,  whose  long  residence  among  the 
Esquimaux  of  Southern  Greenland  has  brought  him 
to  look  upon  that  people  as  little  better  than  the  dogs 
which  drag  their  sledges,  discovered  a  couple  of  graves 
and  brought  away  the  two  skin-robed  mummies  which 
they  enclosed,  thinking  they  would  make  fine  museum 
specimens ;  and  in  this  surmise  he  was  quite  right ; 
but,  unfortunately  for  the  museum,  Mrs.  Hans  was 
prowling  about  when  Jensen  arrived  on  board,  and, 
recognizing  one  of  them  by  some  article  of  its  fur 
clothing  as  a  relative,  she  made  a  terrible  ado,  and 
could  not  be  quieted  even  by  Jensen's  assurance  that 
I  was  a  magician,  and  would  restore  them  to  life  when 
in  my  own  country ;  so,  when  I  learned  the  circum- 
stances, I  thought  it  right,  in  respect  to  humanity  if 
not  to  science,  to  restore  them  to  their  stony  graves, 
and  had  it  done  accordingly. 

The  Esquimau  graves  appear  to  be  numerous  about 
the  harbor,  giving  evidence  of  quite  an  extensive  set- 
tlement at  no  very  remote  period.  These  graves 
are  merely  piles  of  stones  arranged  without  respect 
to  direction,  and  in  the  size  of  the  pile  and  its  loca- 
tion nothing  has  been  consulted  but  the  convenience 
of  the  living.  The  bodies  are  sometimes  barely  hid- 
den. Tombs  of  the  dead,  they  are,  too,  the  mourn- 
ful evidences  of  a  fast  dwindling  race. 

October  18th. 

I  have  been  well  repaid  for  my  course  in  re-interring 
the  mummies;  for  I  have  won  the  gratitude  of  my 
Esquimau  people,  and  Hans  has  brought  me  in  their 


110    PUTREFACTION  AT  LOW  TEMPERATURES. 

places  two  typical  skulls  which  he  found  tossed  among 
the  rocks.  The  little  shrimps  are  also  doing  me  good 
service.  They  have  prepared  for  me  several  skeletons 
of  all  varieties  of  the  animals  which  we  have  captured. 
I  first  have  the  bulk  of  the  flesh  removed  from  the 
bones,  then,  placing  them  in  a  net,  they  are  lowered 
into  the  fire-hole,  and  these  lively  little  scavengers  of 
the  sea  immediately  light  within  the  net,  in  immense 
swarms,  and  in  a  day  or  so  I  have  a  skeleton  more 
nicely  cleaned  than  could  be  done  by  the  most  skillful 
of  human  workmen. 

A  party  brought  in  to-day  the  carcass  of  a  reindeer 
which  I  mortally  wounded  yesterday,  but  was  too 
much  fatigued  to  follow.  They  found  its  tracks,  and, 
after  pursuing  them  for  about  a  mile,  they  came  upon 
the  animal  Iving  in  the  snow,  dead.  It  is  now  discov- 

t/  Cs 

ered  that  putrefaction  has  rendered  it  unfit  for  use,  a 
circumstance  which  seems  very  singular  with  the  tem- 
perature at  ten  degrees  below  zero.  A  similar  case  is 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Kane  as  having  occurred  within  his 
own  observation,  and  Jensen  tells  me  that  it  is  well 
known  that  such  an  event  is  not  uncommon  at  Uper- 
navik.  Indeed,  when  the  Greenlanders  capture  a  deer 
they  immediately  eviscerate  it.  Puzzling  as  the  phe- 
nomenon appears  at  first  sight,  it  seems  to  me,  how- 
ever, that  it  admits  of  ready  explanation.  The  dead 
animal  is  immediately  frozen  on  the  outside ;  and 
there  being  thus  formed  a  layer  of  non-conducting 
ice,  as  well  as  the  pores  being  closed,  the  warmth  of 
the  stomach  is  retained  long  enough  for  decomposition 
to  take  place,  and  to  generate  gas  which  permeates 
the  tissues,  and  renders  the  flesh  unfit  for  food ;  and 
this  view  of  the  case  would  seem  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  fact  that  decomposition  occurs  more  readily  in 


SONNTAG  CLIMBS  THE   GLACIER.  Ill 

the  cold  weather  of   midwinter  than  in  the  wanner 
weather  of  midsummer. 

October,  19th. 

A  lively  party  visited  Chester  Valley  to-day.  They 
started  early  with  two  sledges  —  Sonntag,  with  Jen- 
sen on  one,  Knorr  and  Hans  on  the  other.  Sonntag 
carried  out  the  theodolite  and  chain  to  make  a  survey 
of  the  glacier.  The  others,  of  course.,  took  their  rifles. 
They  saw  numerous  reindeer,  but  shot  only  three. 
One  of  these  was  a  trophy  of  Mr.  Knorr's,  and  had 
like  to  have  cost  him  dearly.  The  poor  animal  had 
been  badly  wounded  in  the  valley,  and  on  three  legs 
tried  to  climb  the  steep  hill.  Knorr,  following  it, 
reached  at  length  within  twenty  yards,  and  brought  it 
down  with  a  well-directed  shot ;  but  the  hunter  and 
the  victim  being,  unfortunately  for  the  former,  in  a 
line,  the  hunter  was  carried  off  his  legs,  and  the  two 
together  went  tumbling  over  the  rocks  in  a  manner 
which,  to  those  below,  looked  rather  alarming.  Re- 
port does  not  say  how  the  boy  extricated  himself.  It 
is  lucky,  however,  that,  instead  of  broken  bones,  he 
has  only  a  few  bruises  to  show  for  his  adventure. 

Sonntag,  too,  had  his  story  to  tell.  Reaching  the 
glacier,  he  ascended  to  its  surface,  after  travelling  two 
miles  along  the  gorge  made  by  the  glacier  on  the  one 
side  and  the  sloping  mountain  on  the  other.  The 
ascent  was  made  by  means  of  steps  cut  with  a  hatchet 
in  the  solid  ice.  The  glacier  was  found  to  be  crossed 
in  places  by  deep  narrow  fissures,  bridged  with  a  crust 
of  snow,  and  so  completely  covered  as  to  defy  detec- 
tion. Into  one  of  these,  fortunately  a  very  narrow 
one,  the  astronomer  was  precipitated  by  the  giving 
way  of  the  bridge,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  would 
have  lost  his  life  but  for  a  barometer  which  he  carried 


112  SEAL-HUNTING.  — ESQUIMAU   VILLAGE. 

hi  his  hand,  and  which,  crossing  the  crack,  broke  the 
fall.  The  barometer  was  my  best  one,  and  is  of  cpurse 
a  hopeless  wreck. 

Carl  and  Christian,  my  two  Danish  recruits  from 
Upernavik,  have  been  setting  nets  for  seal.  These 
nets  are  made  in  the  Greenland  fashion,  of  seal-skin 
thongs,  with  large  meshes.  They  are  kept  in  a  verti- 
cal position  under  the  ice  by  stones  attached  to  their 
lower  margin;  and  the  unsuspecting  seal,  swimming 
along  in  pursuit  of  a  school  of  shrimps  for  a  rneal,  or 
seeking  a  crack  or  hole  in  the  ice  to  catch  a  breath  of 
air,  strikes  it  and  becomes  entangled  in  it,  and  is  soon 
drowned.  Most  of  the  winter  seal-fishing  of  Green- 
land is  done  in  this  manner ;  and  it  is  in  this  that  the 
dogs  are  most  serviceable,  in  carrying  the  hunter  rap- 
idly from  place  to  place  in  his  inspection  of  the  nets, 
and  in  taking  home  the  captured  animals  upon  the 
sledge.  This  species  of  hunting  is  attended  with 
much  risk,  as  the  hunter  is  obliged  to  run  out  on  the 
newly-formed  ice.  Jensen  has  enlivened  many  of  my 
evenings  with  descriptions  of  his  adventures  upon  the 
ice-fields  while  looking  after  his  nets.  On  one  occa- 
sion the  ice  broke  up,  and  he  was  set  adrift,  and  would 
have  been  lost  had  not  his  crystal  raft  caught  on  a 
small  island,  to  which  he  escaped,  and  where  he  was 
forced  to  remain  without  shelter  until  the  frost  built 
for  him  a  bridge  to  the  main  land.  The  hardihood  and 
courage  of  these  Greenland  hunters  is  astonishing. 

Although  the  wind  has  been  blowing  hard,  I  have 
strolled  over  to  the  north  side  of  the  Fiord  on  a  visit 
to  the  Esquimau  village  of  Etah,  which  is  about  four 
miles  away  in  a  northeasterly  direction.  The  hut 
there,  as  I  had  already  surmised,  was  uninhabited,  but 
bore  evidence  of  having  been  abandoned  only  a  short 


HANS  AND  PETER.  113 

time  previous.  This  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  seen 
the  place  since  the  night  I  passed  there  in  December, 
1854,  —  a  night  long  to  be  remembered. 

Near  by  the  hut  I  discovered  a  splendid  buck  leis- 
urely pawing  away  the  snow  and  turning  up  the  dried 
grass  and  moss,  of  which  he  was  making  a  well-earned 
if  not  inviting  meal.  Approaching  him  on  the  leeward 
side,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  coming  within  easy  range  ; 
but  I  felt  reluctant  to  fire  upon  him.  He  was  so  in- 
tent upon  his  work,  and  seemed  so  little  to  suspect 
that  these  solitudes,  through  which  he  had  so  long 
roamed  unmolested,  contained  an  enemy,  that  I  almost 
relented  ;  and  I  did  not  pull  trigger  until  I  had  aimed 
a  third  time.  But,  notwithstanding  this  irresolution, 
his  splendid  haunch  now  hangs  in  the  rigging,  and  is 
set  apart  for  some  future  feast ;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
that  I  shall  then  eat  my  share  of  him  without  once 
thinking  that  I  had  done  a  deed  of  cruelty. 

October  20th. 

I  have  observed  for  some  days  past  decided  symp- 
toms of  a  rivalry  existing  between  my  two  Esquimau 
hunters,  Hans  and  Peter,  both  of  whom  are  very  ser- 
viceable to  me.  Peter  is  a  very  clever  little  fellow, 
and  withal  honest ;  and  he  has  quite  taken  my  fancy. 
He  is  a  thorough-bred  Esquimau,  with  very  dark  com- 
plexion, jet-black  hair,  which  he  cuts  in  native  fashion, 
square  across  his  forehead  ;  but  he  keeps  himself  clean 
aad  neat,  and  is  on  all  occasions  very  well  behaved. 
Not  only  is  he  a  fine  hunter,  but  he  possesses  great 
ingenuity,  and  has  wonderful  skill  with  his  fingers.  I 
have  before  me  several  specimens  of  his  handiwork 
in  the  shape  of  saltrspoons,  paper-cutters,  and  other 
little  trinkets  which,  with  an  old  file,  a  knife,  and  a 

8 


114  MY  ESQUIMAU   PEOPLE. 

piece  of  sand-paper,  he  has  carved  for  me  out  of  a  wal- 
rus tusk.  They  are  cut  with  great  accuracy  and 
taste.  He  is  always  eager  to  serve  my  wishes  in  every 
thing;  and  since  I  never  allow  zeal  to  go  unrewarded, 
he  is  the  richer  by  several  red-flannel  shirts,  and  a  suit 
of  pilol>cloth  clothes.  Of  course,  Hans  is  jealous. 
Indeed,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  exhibit  any  kindness 
of  this  sort  to  any  of  my  Esquimau  people  without 
making  Hans  unhappy.  He  avoids  showing  his  tem- 
per openly  in  my  presence,  but  he  gets  sulky,  and 
does  not  hunt,  or,  if  ordered  out,  he  comes  home  with- 
out game.  He  is  a  type  of  the  worst  phase  of  the 
Esquimau  character.  The  Esquimaux  are  indeed  a 
very  strange  kind  of  people,  and  are  an  interesting 
study,  even  more  so  than  my  dogs,  although  they  are 
not  so  useful ;  and  then  the  dog  can  be  controlled 
with  a  long  whip  and  resolution,  while  the  human  ani- 
mal cannot  be  controlled  with  any  thing.  They  might 
very  properly  be  called  a  negative  people,  in  every 
thing  except  their  unreliability,  which  is  entirely  pos- 
itive ;  and  yet  among  themselves  they  exhibit  the  sem- 
blance of  virtuous  conduct,  at  least  in  this  :  that  while 
in  sickness  or  want  or  distress  they  never  render  vol- 
untary assistance  to  each  other,  yet  they  do  not  deny 
it ;  indeed,  the  active  exhibition  of  service  is  perhaps 
wholly  unknown  or  un thought  of  amongst  them  ;  but 
they  do  the  next  best  thing  —  they  never  withhold  it 
From  the  rude  hut  of  the  hardy  inhabitant  of  these 
frozen  deserts  the  unfortunate  hunter  who  has  lost  his 
team  and  has  been  unsuccessful  in  the  hunt,  the  un- 
protected family  wrho  have  lost  their  head,  even  the 
idle  and  thriftless,  are  never  turned  away ;  but  they 
are  never  invited.  They  may  come,  they  may  use 
what  they  find  as  if  they  were  members  of  the  family, 


ESQUIMAU  TRAITS.  115 

taking  it  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  but  if  it  were  known 
that  they  were  starving,  at  a  distance,  there  is  no  one 
who  would  ever  think  of  going  to  them  with  supplies. 
They  are  the  most  self-reliant  people  in  the  world.  It 
does  not  appear  ever  to  occur  to  them  to  expect  as- 
sistance, and  they  never  think  of  offering  it. 

The  food  and  shelter  which  the  needy  are  allowed 
to  take  is  not  a  charity  bestowed  ;  the  aid  which  the 
hunter  gives  to  the  dogless  man  who  jumps  upon  his 
sledge  for  a  lift  on  a  journey  is  not  a  kindness.  He 
would  drop  him  or  give  him  the  slip  if  occasion  offered, 
even  if  in  a  place  from  whence  he  could  not  reach  his 
home.  He  would  drive  off"  and  leave  him  with  the 
greatest  unconcern,  never  so  much  as  giving  him  a 
thought.  If  he  should  change  his  abode,  the  family 
that  had  sought  his  protection  would  not  be  invited  to 
accompany  him.  They  might  come  if  able,  he  could 
not  and  would  not  drive  them  away ;  indeed,  his  lan- 
guage contains  no  word  that  would  suit  the  act ;  but, 
if  not  able  to  travel,  they  would  be  left  to  starve  with 
as  much  unconcern  as  if  they  were  decrepit  dogs 
which  the  hunt  had  rendered  useless. 

They  neither  beg,  borrow,  nor  steal.  They  do  not 
make  presents,  and  they  never  rob  each  other ;  though 
this  does  not  hold  good  of  their  disposition  toward  the 
white  man,  for  from  him  they  make  it  a  habit  to  filch 
all  they  can. 

I  cannot  imagine  any  living  thing  so  utterly  callous 
as  they.  Why,  even  my  Esquimau  dogs  exhibit  more 
sympathetic  interest  in  each  other's  welfare.  They  at 
least  hang  together  for  a  common  object ;  sometimes 
fighting,  it  is  true,  but  they  make  friends  again  after 
the  contest  is  over.  But  these  Esquimaux  never  fight, 
}y  any  chance!  They  stealthily  harpoon  a  trouble- 


11C  ESQUIMAU   TKAITS. 

somo  rival  in  the*  hunt,  or  an  old  decrepit  man  or 
woman  who  is  a  burden  ;  or  a  person  who  is  sup- 
posed to  be  bewitched,  or  a  lazy  fellow  who  has  no 
dogs,  and  lives  off  his  more  industrious  neighbors. 
They  even  destroy  their  own  offspring  when  there 
happen  to  be  too  many  of  them  brought  into  the 
world,  or  one  shoulo!  chance  to  be  born  with  some  de- 
formity which-will  make  it  incapable  of  self-support ; 
but  they  never  meet  in  open  combat ;  at  least,  such 
are  the  habits  of  the  tribes  who  have  not  yet  been 
reached  in  some  degree  by  the  influences  of  Christian 
civilization,  or  who  have  not  had  ingrafted  upon  them 
some  of  the  aggressive  customs  of  the  old  Norsemen, 
who,  from  the  ninth  to  the  fourteenth  centuries,  lived 
and  fought  in  Southern  Greenland. 

With  such  traits  of  character  they  are  naturally  dis- 
inclined to  be  amiable  toward  any  one  who  is  particu- 
larly fortunate,  and  it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that 
Hans  should  be  envious  of  Peter.  Even  had  I  given 
the  latter  no  more  clothing  than  was  sufficient  to 
cover  his  nakedness,  it  would  have  been  all  the  same. 
Had  I  crowded  upon  Hans  the  best  of  every  thing  in 
the  vessel,  without  respect  to  quantity  or  usefulness, 
it  would  not  be  more  than  he  covets.-  But  the  fellow 
is  especially  jealous  of  my  personal  kind  attentions  to 
Peter,  for  he  sees  in  that  the  guaranty  of  still  further 
gifts. 

Hans,  by  the  way,  keeps  up  an  establishment  of 
Iris  own ;  and,  having  a  piece  of  feminine  humanity, 
he  can  claim  the  dignity  of  systematic  housekeeping. 
Within  the  house  on  the  upper  deck  he  has  pitched 
his  Esquimau  tent,  and,  with  his  wife  and  baby,  half 
buried  in  reindeer-skins,  he  lives  the  life  of  a  true 
native.  His  wife  bears  the  name  of  Merkut,  but  is 


HANS  AND   HIS   FAMILY.  117 

better  known  as  Mrs.  Hans.  She  is  a  little  chubby 
specimen  of  womankind,  and,  for  an  Esquimau,  not 
ill-looking.  In  truth  she  is,  I  will  not  say  the  pret- 
tiest, but  the  least  ugly  thorough-breed  that  I  have 
seen.  Her  complexion  is  unusually  fair,  so  much  so 
that  a  flush  of  red  is  visible  on  her  cheeks  when  she 
can  be  induced  to  use  a  little  soap  and  water  to  re- 
move the  thick  plaster  of  oily  soot  which  covers  it. 
This,  however,  rarely  happens  ;  and  as  for  undergoing 
another  such  soaking  and  scrubbing  as  the  sailors 
gave  her  on  the  way  up  from  Cape  York,  she  cannot 
be  induced  to  think  of  it. 

The  baby  is  a  lively  specimen  of  unwashed  human- 
ity. It  is  about  ten  months  old,  and  rejoices  in  the 
name  of  Pingasuk  —  "The  Pretty  One."  It  appears 
to  take  as  naturally  to  the  cold  as  ducklings  to  water, 
and  may  be  seen  almost  any  day  crawling  through  the 
open  slit  of  the  tent,  and  then  out  over  the  deck,  quite 
innocent  of  clothing ;  and  its  mother,  equally  regard- 
less of  temperature  or  what,  in  civilized  phrase  and 
conventional  usage  we  designate  as  modesty,  does  not 
hesitate  to  wander  about  in  the  same  exposed  man- 
ner. The  temperature,  however,  of  the  house  is  never 
very  low,  mostly  above  freezing. 

My  other  two  Esquimau  hunters,  Marcus  and  Jacob, 
are  lodgers  with  the  Hans  family.  They  are  a  pair 
of  droll  fellows,  very  different  from  Hans  and  Peter. 
Marcus  will  not  work,  and  Jacob  has  grown  like  the 
Prince  of  Denmark,  "fat  and  scant  of  breath,"  and 
cannot.  As  for  hunters,  they  are  that  only  in  name. 
They  have  been  tried  at  every  thing  for  which  it 
was  thought  possible  that  they  could  be  of  any  use 
and  it  is  now  agreed  on  all  sides  that  they  can  only 
oe  serviceable  in  amusing  the  crew  and  in  cutting  up 


118  MARCUS   AND  JACOB. 

our  game  ;  and  these  things  they  do  well  and  cheer- 
fully, for  out  of  these  pursuits  grows  an  endless  oppor- 
tunity to  feed  ;  and  as  for  feeding,  I  have  never  seen 
man  nor  beast  that  could  rival  them,  especially  Jacob. 
The  stacks  of  meat  that  this  boy  disposes  of  seem 
quite  fabulous  ;  and  it  matters  not  to  him  whether  it 
is  boiled  or  raw.  The  cook  declares  that  "  he  can  eat 
heself  in  three  meals,"  meaning,  of  course,  his  own 
weight ;  but  I  need  hardly  say  that  this  is  an  exag- 
geration. The  steward  quotes  Shakespeare,  and  thinks 
that  he  has  hit  the  boy  very  hard  when  he  proclaims 
him  to  be  a  savage  "  of  an  unbounded  stomach." 
The  sailors  tease  him  about  his  likeness  to  the  ani- 
mals which  he  so  ruthlessly  devours.  A  pair  of  ant- 
lers are  growing  from  his  forehead,  rabbit's  hair  is 
sprouting  on  his  distended  abdomen,  and  birds'  feath- 
ers are  appearing  on  his  back  ;  his  arms  and  legs  are 
shortening  into  flippers,  his  teeth  are  lengthening 
into  tusks,  and  they  mean  to  get  a  cask  of  walrus 
blubber  out  of  him  before  the  spring ;  all  of  which  he 
takes  good-naturedly ;  but  there  is  a  roguish  leer  in 
his  eye,  and  if  I  mistake  not  he  will  yet  be  even  with 
his  tormentors.  So  much  for  my  Esquimau  subjects. 

October  21st 

I  have  had  another  lively  race  to  the  glacier,  and 
have  had  a  day  of  useful  work.  Hans  drove  Sonntag, 
and  Jensen  was,  as  usual,  my  "  whip."  We  took  Carl 
and  Peter  along  to  help  us  with  our  surveying  ;  and, 
although  there  were  three  persons  and  some  instru- 
ments on  each  sledge,  yet  this  did  not  much  interfere 
with  our  progress.  We  were  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier 
in  forty  minutes. 

The  dogs  are  getting  a  little  toned  down  with  use, 


HABITS   OF   DOGS.  119 

and  I  have  directed  that  their  rations  shall  not  be 
quite  as  heavy  as  they  were.  They  are  lively  enough 
still,  but  not  so  hard  to  keep  in  hand. 

My  teams  greatly  interest  me,  and  no  proprietor  of 
a  stud  of  horses  ever  took  greater  satisfaction  in  the 
occupants  of  his  stables  than  I  do  in  those  of  my  ken- 
nels. Mine,  however,  are  riot  housed  very  grandly, 
said  kennels  being  nothing  more  than  certain  walls 
of  hard  snow  built  up  alongside  the  vessel,  into  which 
the  teams,  however,  rarely  choose  to  go,  preferring  the 
open  ice-plain,  where  they  sleep,  wound  up  in  a  knot 
like  worms  in  a  fish-basket,  and  are  often  almost 
buried  out  of  sight  by  the  drifting  snow.  It  is  only 
when  the  temperature  is  very  low  and  the  wind  unu- 
sually fierce  that  they  seek  the  protection  of  the 
snow-walls. 

These  dogs  are  singular  animals,  and  are  a  curious 
study.  They  have  their  leader  and  their  sub-leaders 
—  the  rulers  and  the  ruled  —  like  any  other  commu- 
nity desiring  good  government.  The  governed  get 
what  rights  they  can,  and  the  governors  bully  them 
continually  in  order  that  they  may  enjoy  security 
against  rebellion,  and  live  in  peace.  And  a  commu- 
nity of  dogs  is  really  organized  on  the  basis  of  correct 
principles.  As  an  illustration,  —  my  teams  are  under 
the  control  of  a  big  aggressive  brute,  who  sports  a 
dirty  red  uniform  with  snuff-colored  facings,  and  has 
sharp  teeth.  He  possesses  immense  strength,  and  his 
every  movement  shows  that  he  is  perfectly  conscious 
of  it.  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  he  can  trounce  any 
dog  in  the  whole  herd  ;  and  he  seems  to  possess  the 
faculty  of  destroying  conspiracies,  cabals,  and  all  evil 
designings  against  his  stern  rule.  None  of  the  other 
dogs  like  him,  but  they  cannot  help  themselves  ;  they 


120         THE  LEADER  OF  THE  PACK. 

are  afraid  to  turn  against  him,  for  when  they  do  so 
there  is  no  end  to  the  chastisements  which  they  re- 
ceive. Now  Oosisoak  (for  that  is  his  name)  has  a 
rival,  a  huge,  burly  fellow  writh  black  uniform  and 
white  collar.  This  dog  is  called  Karsuk,  which  ex- 
presses the  complexion  of  his  coat.  He  is  larger  than 
Oosisoak,  but  not  so  active  nor  so  intelligent.  Occa- 
sionally he  has  a  set-to  with  his  master ;  but  he  always 
comes  off  second  best,  and  his  unfortunate  followers 
are  afterwards  flogged  in  detail  by  the  merciless  red- 
coat. The  place  of  Oosisoak,  when  harnessed  to  the 
sledge,  is  on  the  left  of  the  line,  and  that  of  Karsuk 
on  the  'right. 

There  is  another  powerful  animal  wrhich  we  call 
Erebus,  who  governs  Sonn tag's  team  as  Oosisoak  gov- 
erns mine,  and  he  can  whip  Karsuk,  but  he  never  has 
a  bout  with  my  leader  except  at  his  peril  and  that  of 
his  followers.  And  thus  they  go  along,  fighting  to 
preserve  the  peace,  and  chawing  each  other  up  to 
maintain  the  balance  of  power ;  and  this  is  all  to  my 
advantage  ;  for  if  the  present  relations  of  things  were 
disturbed,  my  community  of  dogs  would  be  in  a  state 
of  anarchy.  Oosisoak  would  go  into  exile,  and  would 
die  of  laziness  and  a  broken  heart,  and  great  and 
bloody  would  be  the  feuds  between  the  rival  interests, 
led  by  Karsuk  and  Erebus,  before  it  was  decided 
which  is  the  better  team. 

Oosisoak  has  other  traits  befitting  greatness.  He 
has  sentiment.  He  has  chosen  one  to  share  the  glory 
of  his  reign,  to  console  his  sorrows,  and  to  lick  his 
wounds  when  fresh  from  the  bloody  field.  Oosisoak 
has  a  queen  ;  and  this  object  of  his  affection,  this  idol 
of  his  heart,  is  never  absent  from  his  side.  She  runs 
beside  him  in  the  team,  and  she  fights  for  him  hardei 


THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  KENNEL.       121 

than  any  one  of  his  male  subjects.  Tn  return  for  this 
devotion  he  allows  her  to  do  pretty  much  as  she 
pleases.  She  may  steal  the  bone  out  of  his  mouth, 
and  he  gives  it  up  to  her  with  a  sentimental  grimace 
that  is  quite  instructive.  But  it  happens  sometimes 
that  he  is  himself  hungry,  and  he  trots  after  her,  and 
when  he  thinks  that  she  has  got  her  share  he  growls 
significantly ;  whereupon  she  drops  the  bone  without 
even  a  murmur.  If  the  old  fellow  happens  to  be  par- 
ticularly cross  when  a  reindeer  is  thrown  to  the  pack, 
he  gets  upon  it  with  his  forefeet,  begins  to  gnaw 
away  at  the  flank,  growling  a  wolfish  growl  all  the 
while,  and  no  dog  dare  come  near  until  lie  has  had 
his  fill  except  Queen  Arkadik,  (for  by  that  name  is 
she  known,)  nor  can  she  approach  except  in  one  direc- 
tion. She  must  come  alongside  of  him,  and  crawl 
between  his  fore-legs  and  eat  lovingly  from  the  spot 
where  he  is  eating. 

So  much  for  my  dogs.  I  shall  doubtless  have  more 
to  say  about  them  hereafter,  but  there  is  only  a  small 
scrap  of  the  evening  left,  and  I  must  go  back  to 
"My  Brother  John's  Glacier." 

Halting  our  teams  near  the  glacier  front,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  prepare  ourselves  for  ascending  to  its  sur- 
face. Its  face,  looking  down  the  valley,  exhibits  a 
somewhat  convex  lateral  line,  and  is  about  a  mile  in 
extent,  and  a  hundred  feet  high.  It  presents  the 
same  fractured  surfaces  of  the  iceberg,  the  same  lines 
of  vertical  decay  caused  by  the  waters  trickling  from 
it  in  the  summer,  —  the  same  occasional  horizontal 
lines,  which,  though  not  well  marked,  seemed  to  con- 
form to  the  curve  of  the  valley  in  which  the  glacier 
rests.  The  slope  backward  from  this  mural  face  is 
quite  abrupt  for  several  hundred  feet,  after  which  the 


122  CLIMBING  THE  GLACIER. 

ascent  becomes  gradual,  decreasing  to  six  degrees, 
where  it  finally  blends  with  the  mer  de  glace  which 
appears  to  cover  the  land  to  the  eastward. 

At  the  foot  of  the  glacier  front  there  is  a  pile  of 
broken  fragments  which  have  been  detached  from 
time  to  time.  Some  of  them  are  very  large  —  solid 
lumps  of  clear  crystal  ice  many  feet  in  diameter.  One 
such  mass,  with  an  immense  shower  of  smaller  pieces, 
cracked  off  while  we  were  looking  at  it,  and  came 
crashing  down  into  the  plain  below. 

The  surface  of  the  glacier  curves  gently  upward 
from  side  to  side.  It  does  not  blend  with  the  slope 
of  the  mountain,  but,  breaking  off  abruptly,  forms,  as 
I  have  before  observed,  a  deep  gorge  between  the 
land  and  the  ice.  This  gorge  is  interrupted  in  places 
by  immense  boulders  which  have  fallen  from  the  cliffs, 
or  by  equally  large  masses  of  ice  which  have  broken 
from  the  glacier.  Sometimes,  however,  these  inter- 
ruptions are  of  a  different  character,  when  the  ice, 
moving  bodily  forward,  has  pushed  the  rocks  up  the 
hill-side  in  a  confused  wave. 

The  traveling  along  this  winding  gorge  was  labori- 
ous, especially  as  the  snow-crusts  sometimes  gave  way 
and  let  one's  legs  down  between  the  sharp  stones,  or 
equally  sharp  ice ;  but  a  couple  of  miles  brought  us 
to  a  place  where  we  could  mount  by  using  our  axe  in 
cutting  steps,  as  Sonntag  had  done  before. 

We  were  now  fairly  on  the  glacier's  back,  and 
moved  cautiously  toward  its  centre,  fearful  at  every 
step  that  a  fissure  might  open  under  our  feet,  and  let 
us  down  between  its  hard  ribs.  But  no  such  accident 
happened,  and  we  reached  our  destination,  where  the 
surface  was  perfectly  smooth  —  an  inclined  plain  of 
clear,  transparent  ice. 


SURVEYING  THE  GLACIER.  123 

Our  object  in  this  journey  was  chiefly  to  determine 
whether  the  glacier  had  movement ;  and  for  this  pur- 
pose we  followed  the  very  simple  and  efficient  plan 
of  Professor  Agassiz  in  his  Alpine  surveys.  First  we 
placed  two  stakes  in  the  axis  of  the  glacier,  and  care- 
fully measured  the  distance  between  them;  then  we 
planted  two  other  stakes  nearly  midway  between 
these  and  the  sides  of  the  glacier ;  and  then  we  set 
the  theodolite  over  each  of  these  stakes  in  succession, 
and  connected  them  by  angles  with  each  other  and 
with  fixed  objects  on  the  mountain-side.  These  an- 
gles will  be  repeated  next  spring,  and  I  shall  by  this 
means  know  whether  the  glacier  is  moving  down  the 
valley,  and  at  what  rate. 

On  this,  as  on  every  other  occasion  when  we  have 
attempted  to  do  any  thing  requiring  carefulness  and 
deliberation,  the  wind  came  to  embarrass  us.  The 
temperature  alone  gives  us  little  concern.  Although 
it  may  be  any  number  of  degrees  below  zero,  we  do 
not  mind  it,  for  we  have  become  accustomed  to  it ; 
but  the  wind  is  a  serious  inconvenience,  especially 
when  our  occupations,  as  in  the  present  instance,  do 
not  admit  of  active  exercise.  It  is  rather  cold  work 
handling  the  instrument  ;  but  the  tangent  screws 
have  been  covered  with  buckskin,  and  we  thus  save 
our  fingers  from  being  "  burnt,"  as  our  little  freezings 
are  quite  significantly  called. 

I  purpose  making  a  still  further  exploration  of  this 
glacier  to-morrow,  and  will  defer  until  then  any  fur- 
ther description  of  it. 

During  my  absence  the  hunters  have  not  been  idle. 
Barnum  has  killed  six  deer ;  Jensen  shot  two  and 
Hans  nine ;  but  the  great  event  has  been  the  sailing- 
master's  birthday  dinner;  and  I  returned  on  board 


124  A  SOCIAL  RULE. 

finding  all  hands  eagerly  awaiting  my  arrival  to  sit 
down  to  a  sumptuous  banquet. 

I  have  inaugurated  the  rule  that  all  birthdays  shall 
be  celebrated  in  this  manner ;  and,  when  his  birthday 
comes  round,  each  individual  is  at  liberty  to  call  for 
the  very  best  that  my  lockers  and  the  steward's  store- 
room can  furnish  ;  and  in  this  I  take  credit  for  some 
wisdom.  I  know  by  experience  what  the  dark  cloud 
is  under  which  we  are  slowly  drifting,  and  I  know 
that  my  ingenuity  will  be  fully  taxed  to  pass  through 
it  with  a  cheerful  household  ;  and  I  know  still  further, 
that,  whether  men  live  under  the  Pole  Star  or  under' 
the  Equator,  they  can  be  made  happy  if  they  can  be 
made  full ;  and  furthermore,  at  some  hour  of  the  day, 
be  it  twelve  or  be  it  six,  all  men  must  "  dine ; "  for 
are  they  not 

" a  carnivorous  production, 

Requiring  meals,  —  at  least  one  meal  a  day  ? 
They  cannot  live,  like  woodcock,  upon  suction  ; 
But,  like  the  shark  and  tiger,  must  have  prey." 

And  hence  they  take  kindly  to  venison  and  such  like 
things,  and  they  remember  with  satisfaction  the  ad- 
vice of  St.  Paul  to  the  gentle  Timothy,  to  "  use  a  little 
wine  for  the  stomach's  sake." 

McCormick  was  not  only  the  subject  to  be  honored 
on  this  occasion,  but  to  do  honor  to  himself.  He  has 
actually  cooked  his  own  dinner,  and  has  done  it  well. 
My  sailing-master  is  a  very  extraordinary  person,  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  end  to  his  accomplishments. 
Possessing  a  bright  intellect,  a  good  education,  and  a 
perfect  magazine  of  nervous  energy,  he  has,  while 
knocking  about  the  world,  picked  up  a  smattering  of 
nlmost  every  thing  known  under  the  sun,  from  astron- 
omy to  cooking,  and  from  seamanship  to  gold-digging. 


THE    SAILING-MASTER.  125 

v 

And  he  is  something  of  a  philosopher,  for  he  declares 
that  he  will  have  all  the  comfort  he  can  get  when  off 
duty,  while  he  does  not  seem  to  regard  any  sort  of 
exposure,  and  is  quite  careless  of  himself,  when  on 
duty ;  and  besides,  he  appears  to  possess  that  highly 
useful  faculty  of  being  able  to  do  for  himself  any  thing 
that  he  may  require  to  be  done  by  others.  He  can 
handle  a  marline-spike  as  well  as  a  sextant,  and  can 
play  sailor,  carpenter,  blacksmith,  cook,  or  gentleman 
with  equal  facility.  So  much  for  the  man ;  now  for 
his  feast. 

A  day  or  so  ago  I  found  lying  on  my  cabin-table  a 
neat  little  missive  which  politely  set  forth,  that  "  Mr. 
McCormick  presents  the  compliments  of  the  officers' 
mess  to  the  Commander,  and  requests  the  honor  of 
his  company  to  dinner  in  their  cabin,  on  the  21st  in- 
stant, at  six  o'clock."  And  I  have  answered  the  sum- 
mons, and  have  got  back  again  into  my  own  den 
overwhelmed  with  astonishment  at  the  skill  of  my 
sailing-master  in  that  art,  the  cultivation  of  which  has 
made  Lucullus  immortal  and  Soyer  famous,  and  highly 
gratified  to  see  both  officers  and  men  so  well  pleased. 
The  bill  of  fare,  "  with  some  original  illustrations  by 
Radcliffe,"  set  forth  a  very  tempting  invitation  to  a 
hungry  man,  and  its  provisions  were  generally  fulfilled. 
There  was  a  capital  soup — jardiniere  —  nicely  fla- 
vored, a  boiled  salmon  wrapped  in  the  daintiest  of 
napkins,  a  roast  haunch  of  venison  weighing  thirty 
pounds,  and  a  brace  of  roast  eider-ducks,  with  currant- 
jelly  and  apple-sauce,  and  a  good  variety  of  fresh  veg- 
etables ;  and  after  this  a  huge  plum-pudding,  imported 
from  Boston,  which  came  in  with  the  flames  of  Otara 
flickering  all  around  its  rotund  lusciousness  ;  and  then 
there  was  mince-pie  and  blanc-mange  and  nuts  and 


126  A  BIRTHDAY   DIXNER. 

raisins  and  olives  and  Yankee  cheese  and  Boston 
crackers  and  coffee  and  cigars,  and  I  don't  know  what 
else  besides.  There  were  a  couple  of  carefully-treas- 
ured bottles  of  Moselle  produced  from  the  little  recep- 
tacle under  my  bunk,  and  some  madeira  and  sherry 
from  the  same  place. 

The  only  dish  that  was  purely  local  in  its  character 
was  a  mayonnaise  of  frozen  venison  (raw)  thinly  sliced 
and  dressed  in  the  open  air.  It  was  very  crisp,  but 
its  merits  were  not  duly  appreciated.  The  "  Bill " 
wound  up  thus:  —  "Music  on  the  fiddle  by  Knorr. 
Song,  'We  won't  go  home  till  mornin','  by  the  mess. 
Original  '  yarns '  always  in  order,  but  '  Joe  Millers ' 
forbidden  on  penalty  of  clearing  out  the  l  fire-hole ' 
for  the  balance  of  the  night." 

I  left  the  party  two  hours  ago  in  unrestrained  en- 
joyment of  the  evening.  And  right  good  use  do  they 
appear  to  be  making  of  the  occasion.  The  whole 
ship's  company  seem  to  be  like  Tarn  O'Shanter,  — 

"  O'er  a'  the  ills  o'  life  victorious," 

without,  however,  so  far  as -I  can  discover,  any  thing 
of  the  cause  which  led  to  that  renowned  individual's 
satisfactory  state  of  mind.  The  sailors  are  following 
up  their  feast  with  a  lively  dance,  into  which  they 
have  forced  Marcus  and  Jacob ;  while  the  officers,  like 
true-born  Americans,  are  making  speeches.  At  this 
moment  I  hear  some  one  proposing  the  health  of 
"The  Great  Polar  Bear." 


CHAPTER  X. 

IQORNEY  ON  THE  GLACIER.  — THE  FIRST  CAMP.  —  SCALING  THE  GLACIEB.— 
CHARACTER  OF  ITS  SURFACE. —  THE  ASCENT. —DRIVEN  BACK  BY  A  GALB. 
—  LOW  TEMPERATURE.  — DANGEROUS  SITUATION  OF  TILE  PARTY.  — A  MOON- 
LIGHT SCENE. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  that  we  had  no  actual  daylight 
even  at  noontime,  yet  it  was  light  enough  for  travel- 
ing ;  and  the  moon  being  full,  and  adding  its  bright- 
ness to  that  of  the  retiring  sun,  I  felt  no  hesitation 
in  carrying  into  execution  my  contemplated  journey 
upon  the  glacier.  The  severe  gales  appeared  to  have 
subsided,  and  I  thought  that  the  undertaking  might 
oe  made  with  safety. 

I  could  do  nothing  at  this  period  that  would  bear 
directly  upon  my  plans  of  exploration  toward  the 
north,  and  I  desired  to  employ  my  time  to  the  best 
advantage.  The  sea  immediately  outside  of  the  har- 
bor still  remained  unfrozen,  and  we  were  kept  close 
prisoners  within  Hartstene  Bay  —  being  unable  to 
pass  around  the  capes  which  bounded  it  to  the  north 
and  south.  Both  Cape  Alexander  and  Cape  Ohlsen 
were  still  lashed  by  the  troubled  sea.  There  was  evi- 
dently a  large  open  area  in  the  mouth  of  the  Sound, 
extending  down  into  the  "  North  Water."  When  the 
wind  set  in  from  that  direction  the  ice  was  broken  up 
far  within  the  bay,  to  be  drifted  off  when  it  changed 
to  the  eastward. 

Besides  this,  even  if  the  ice  had  closed  up,  so  little 
faith  had  I  in  the  autumn  as  a  season  for  sledge  trav- 


128  JOURNEY  ON  THE   GLACIER. 

eling  upon  the  sea,  that  I  doubt  if  I  should  have 
attempted  a  journey  in  that  quarter.  In  those  posi- 
tions most  favorable  to  early  freezing  the  ice  does  not 
unite  firmly  until  the  darkness  has  fully  set  in  ;  and 
traveling  is  not  only  attended  with  much  risk,  but 
with  great  loss  of  that  physical  strength  so  necessary 
to  resist  the  insidious  influences  of  the  malady,  hith- 
erto so  often  fatal  to  sojourners  in  the  Arctic  darkness. 
And  it  has  been  the  general  judgment  of  my  prede- 
cessors in  this  region,  that  the  late  spring  and  early 
summer  are  alone  calculated  for  successful  sledge  trav- 
eling. I  recall  but  two  commanders  who  have  sent 
parties  into  the  field  in  the  autumn,  and  in  both  of 
these  cases  the  attempt  was,  apparently,  not  only  use- 
less, but  prejudicial.  The  men  were  broken  down  by 
the  severity  of  the  exposure  —  having  been  almost 
constantly  wet  and  always  cold  —  and  when  the  dark- 
ness set  in  they  were  laid  up  with  the  scurvy  ;  and  in 
the  spring  it  was  discovered  that  the  depots  which 
they  had  established  were,  for  the  most  part,  either 
destroyed  by  bears  or  were  otherwise  unavailable. 

With  inland  traveling  the  case  is  different.  There 
is  then  no  risk  of  getting  wet,  and  I  have  not  ordina- 
rily experienced  serious  difficulty  in  traveling  at  any 
temperature,  however  severe,  provided  I  could  keep 
my  party  dry.  Some  dampness  is,  however,  almost 
unavoidable  even  on  land  journeys,  and  this  is,  in 
truth,  one  of  the  most  embarrassing  obstacles  with 
which  the  Arctic  traveler  has  to  contend.  Even  at 
low  temperatures  he  cannot  wholly  avoid  some  moist- 
ure to  his  clothes  and  fur  bedding,  caused  by  the 
warmth  of  his  own  person  melting  the  snow  beneath 
him  while  he  sleeps. 

This  being  our  first  journey,  of  course  everybody 


JOURNEY  ON  THE   GLACIER.  129 

was  eager  to  go.  I  had  at  first  intended  to  take  the 
dogs,  with  Jensen  as  my  only  companion  and  driver; 
but  upon  talking  the  matter  over  with  that  individual, 
(in  whose  judgment  with  respect  to  such  things  I  had 
much  confidence),  I  yielded  to  his  opinion  that  the 
dogs  were  not  available  for  that  kind  of  work.  I  had 
reason  afterwards  to  regret  the  decision,  for  it  was 
found  that  they  might  have  been  used  during  some 
parts  of  the  journey  with  great  advantage.  It  oc- 
curred to  me,  upon  subsequent  reflection,  that  for 
Jensen's  aspersions  of  the  dogs  an  ample  apology 
might  be  found  in  Sonntag's  broken  barometer. 

Having  concluded  to  make  the  journey  with  men 
alone,  my  choice  fell  upon  Mr.  Knorr,  John  McDonald, 
Harvey  Hey  wood,  Christian  Petersen,  and  the  Esqui- 
mau Peter.  McDonald  was  one  of  my  very  best  sail- 
ors —  a  short,  well-knit  fellow,  always  ready  for  work. 
Christian  was  not  unlike  him  in  make,  disposition,  and 
endurance,  and,  although  a  carpenter,  was  yet  some- 
thing of  a  sailor.  He  had  lived  during  several  years 
in  Greenland,  and  had  become  inured  to  a  life  of  ex- 
posure. Heywood  was  a  landsman  from  the  far-West, 
and  had  joined  me  from  pure  enthusiasm.  He  was 
full  of  courage  and  energy,  and,  although  occupying 
a  position  in  the  ship's  company  much  inferior  to  his 
deserts,  yet  nothing  better  could  be  done  for  him. 
He  was  bent  upon  accompanying  the  expedition,  no 
matter  in  what  capacity.1  With  Peter  'the  reader  is 
already  acquainted. 

We  set  out  on  the  22d  of  October,  the  day  follow- 
ing the  celebration  which  closes  the  last  chapter.  Our 

1  It  affords  me  great  satisfaction  to  learn  recently  that  Harvey  Hey- 
wood has  served  during  the  late  war,  in  the  Southwest,  with  great  gal- 
lantry, winning  for  himself  a  commission,  being  attached  to  the  engineers, 
oil  the  general  staff.     I  found  him  to  be  an  excellent  draughtsman. 
9 


130  THE  FIRST  CAMP. 

sledge  was  lightly  laden  with  a  small  canvas  tent,  two 
buffalo-skins  for  bedding,  a  cooking-lamp,  and  provis- 
ions for  eight  days.  Our  personal  equipment  needs 
but  a  brief  description.  An  extra  pair  of  fur  stock- 
ings, a  tin  cup,  and  an  iron  spoon,  per  man,  was  the 
whole  of  it. 

Our  first  camp  was  made  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier. 
The  first  camp  of  a  journey  anywhere  in  the  world 
is  usually  uncomfortable  enough,  notwithstanding  it 
may  perhaps  have  its  bright  side ;  but  this  one,  to  my 
little  party,  did  not  appear  to  have  any  bright  side  at 
all.  The  temperature  was  — 11°,  and  we  had  no 
other  fire  than  what  was  needed  in  our  furnace- 
lamp  for  cooking  our  hash  and  coffee.  I  believe  no 
one  slept.  Our  tent  was  pitched,  of  necessity,  on  a 
sloping  hill-side,  and  on  the  smoothest  bed  of  stones 
that  we  could  find.  We  turned  out  in  the  moonlight 
and  went  to  work. 

The  next  journey  carried  us  to  the  top  of  the  gla- 
cier, and  it  was  a  very  serious  day's  business.  I  have 
already  described,  in  the  last  chapter,  the  rugged  char- 
acter of  the  gorge  through  which  we  were  obliged  to 
travel,  in  order  to  reach  a  point  where  we  could  scale 
the  glacier.  The  laden  sledge  could  not  be  dragged 
over  the  rocks  and  blocks  of  ice,-  and  the  men  were 
therefore  compelled  to  carry  our  equipments,  piece  by 
piece,  on  their  shoulders.  Reaching  the  spot  where, 
with  Mr.  Sonntag,  I  had  before  made  an  ascent,  we 
prepared  to  hoist  the  sledge. 

The  scenery  was  here  quite  picturesque.  We  were 
standing  in  a  little  triangular  valley,  with  a  lake  in 
its  centre.  At  our  left  rose  the  great  glacier,  and 
at  our  right  a  small  stream  of  ice  poured  through 
a  deep  gorge.  Before  us  stood  a  massive  pillar  of 


SCALING  THE   GLACIER.  131 

red-sandstone  rock,  behind  which  these  two  streams 
uniting,  wholly  surrounded  it,  making  it  truly  an 
island  —  an  island  in  a  sea  of  ice.  The  little  lake 
exhibited  a  phenomenon  which  I  found  quite  instruc- 
tive in  connection  with  my  present  journey.  It  had 
been  well  filled  with  water  at  the  close  of  the  thaw 
season,  and  the  ice  was  formed  upon  it  before  the 
water  had  subsided.  When  the  lake  had  drained 
off  under  the  glacier  the  ice  was  left  with  no  other 
support  than  the  rocks.  In  many  places  it  had  bent 
down  with  its  own  weight,  and  in  one  instance  I  ob- 
served that,  the  pressure  being  finally  exerted  on  the 
corners  of  the  remaining  slab,  this  ice,  in  a  tempera- 
ture below  zero,  and  six  inches  thick,  had  been  twisted 
into  a  shape  resembling  the  mold-board  of  a  farmer's 
plow. 

The  first  attempt  to  scale  the  glacier  was  attended 
with  an  incident  which  looked  rather  serious  at  the 
moment.  The  foremost  member  of  the  party  missed 
his  footing  as  he  was  clambering  up  the  rude  steps, 
and,  sliding  down  the  steep  side,  scattered  those  who 
were  below  him  to  right  and  left,  and  sent  them  rolling 
into  the  valley  beneath.  The  adventure  might  have 
been  attended  with  serious  consequences,  for  there 
were  many  rocks  projecting  above  the  snow  and  ice  at 
the  foot  of  the  slope.  The  next  effort  was  more  suc- 
cessful, and  the  end  of  a  rope  being  carried  over  the 
side  of  the  glacier,  the  sledge  was  drawn  up  the  in- 
clined plane,  and  we  started  off  upon  our  journey. 
The  ice  was  here  very  rough  and  much  broken,  and 
was  almost  wholly  free  from  snow. 

We  had  not  traveled  long  before  an  accident  hap- 
pened to  me  similar  to  that  which  had  before  occurred 
to  Mr.  Sonntag.  Walking  in  advance  of  the  party, 


132  THE   ASCENT. 

who  were  dragging  the  sledge,  I  found  myself,  with- 
out any  warning,  suddenly  sinking  through  the  snow, 
and  was  only  saved  by  holding  firmly  to  a  wooden 
staff  which  I  carried  over  my  shoulder,  fearful  that 
such  a  misadventure  might  befall  me.  The  staff 
spanned  the  opening  and  supported  me  until  I  could 
scramble  out.  The  crack  may  not  have  been  very 
deep,  but,  not  having  found  any  support  for  my  feet, 
I  felt  glad  to  have  been  able  to  postpone  the  solution 
of  the  interesting  scientific  question,  as  to  whether 
these  fissures  extend  entirely  through  the  body  of  the 
glacier,  to  some  future  occasion. 

As  we  neared  the  centre  of  the  glacier  the  surface 
became  more  smooth,  and  gave  evidence  of  greater 
security.  The  great  roughness  of  the  sides  was  no 
doubt  due  to  an  uneven  conformation  of  that  portion 
of  the  valley  upon  which  the  ice  rested. 

Journeying  then  about  five  miles,  we  pitched  our 
tent  upon  the  ice,  and,  turning  into  it,  after  a  hearty 
supper  of  hash,  bread,  and  coffee,  we  slept  soundly, — 
being  too  much  fatigued  to  give  thought  to  the  tem- 
perature, which  had  fallen  several  degrees  lower  than 
during  the  previous  night. 

On  the  following  day  we  traveled  thirty  miles ;  and 
the  ascent,  which,  during  the  last  march,  had  been  at 
an  angle  of  about  6°,  diminished  gradually  to  about 
one  third  of  that  angle  of  elevation ;  and  from  a  sur- 
face of  hard  ice  we  had  come  upon  an  even  plain  of 
compacted  snow,  through  which  no  true  ice  could  be 
found  after  digging  down  to  the  depth  of  three  feet. 
At  that  depth,  however,  the  snow  assumed  a  more 
icy  condition,  and,  although  not  actually  ice,  we 
could  not  penetrate  further  into  it  with  our  shovel 
without  great  difficulty.  The  snow  was  covered  with 


EXCESSIVE   COLD.  133 

a  crust  through  which  the  foot  broke  at  every  step, 
thus  making  the  traveling  very  laborious. 

About  twenty-five  miles  were  made  during  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  track  being  of  the  same  character  as 
the  day  before,  and  at  about  the  same  elevation ;  but 
the  condition  of  my  party  warned  me  against  the 
hazard  of  continuing  the  journey.  The  temperature 
had  fallen  to  30°  below  zero,  and  a  fierce  gale  of  wind 
meeting  us  in  the  face,  drove  us  into  our  tent  for  shel- 
ter, and,  after  resting  there  for  a  few  hours,  compelled 
our  return.  I  had,  however,  accomplished  the  princi- 
pal purpose  of  my  journey,  and  had  not  in  any  case 
intended  to  proceed  more  than  one  day  further,  at 
this  critical  period  of  the  year. 

My  party  had  not  yet  become  sufficiently  inured  to 
exposure  at  such  low  temperatures  to  enable  them 
to  bear  it  without  risk.  They  were  all  more  or  less 
touched  with  the  frost,  and  the  faces  of  two  of  them 
had  been  so  often  frozen  that  they  had  become  very( 
painful  and  much  swollen,  and  their  feet  being  con- 
stantly cold,  I  was  fearful  of  some  serious  accident 
if  we  did  not  speedily  seek  safety  at  a  lower  level. 
The  temperature  fell  to  34°  below  zero  during  the 
night,  and  it  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  mention 
that  the  lowest  record  of  the  thermometer  at  Port 
Foulke,  during  our  absence,  was  22°  higher.  The  men 
complained  bitterly,  and  could  not  sleep.  One  of 
them  seemed  likely  to  give  up  altogether,  and  I  was 
compelled  to  send  him  into  the  open  air  to  save  him- 
self from  perishing  by  a  vigorous  walk. 

The  storm  steadily  increased  in  force,  and,  the  tem- 
perature falling  lower  and  lower,  we  were  all  at  length 
forced  to  quit  the  tent,  and  in  active  exercise  strive  to 
prevent  ourselves  from  freezing.  To  face  the  wrind 


134  A  DANGEROUS   SITUATION. 

was  not  possible,  and  shelter  was  nowhere  to  be  found 
upon  the  unbroken  plain.  There  was  but  one  direc- 
tion in  which  we  could  move,  and  that  was  with  our 
backs  to  the  gale.  Much  as  I  should  have  liked  to 
continue  the  journey  one  day  more,  it  was  clear  to 
me  that  longer  delay  would  not  alone  endanger  the 
lives  of  one  or  two  members  of  my  party,  but  would 
wholly  defeat  the  purposes  of  the  expedition  by  the 
destruction  of  all  of  us. 

It  was  not  without  much  difficulty  that  the  tent 
was  taken  down  and  bundled  upon  the  sledge.  The 
wind  blew  so  fiercely  that  we  could  scarcely  roll  it  up 
with  our  stiffened  hands.  The  men  were  suffering 
terribly,  and  could  only  for  a  few  moments  hold  on 
to  the  hardened  canvas.  Their  fingers,  freezing  con- 
tinually, required  active  pounding  to  keep  them  upon 
the  flickering  verge  of  life.  We  did  not  wait  for  neat 
stowage  or  an  orderly  start.  Danger  suggests  prompt 
^expedients. 

Our  situation  at  this  camp  was  as  sublime  as  it  was 
dangerous.  We  had  attained  an  altitude  of  five  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  we  were  sev- 
enty miles  from  the  coast,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  frozen 
Sahara,  immeasurable  to  the  human  eye.  There  was 
neither  hill,  mountain,  nor  gorge  anywhere  in  view. 
We  had  completely  sunk  the  strip  of  land  which  lies 
between  the  mer  de  glace  and  the  sea ;  and  no  object 
met  the  eye  but  our  feeble  tent,  which  bent  to  the 
storm.  Fitful  clouds  swept  over  the  face  of  the  full- 
orbed  moon,  which,  descending  toward  the  horizon, 
glimmered  through  the  drifting  snow  that  whirled  out 
of  the  illimitable  distance,  and  scudded  over  the  icy 
plain ;  —  to  the  eye,  in  undulating  lines  of  downy  soft- 
ness ;  to  the  flesh,  in  showers  of  piercing  darts. 


JOURNEYING  BY  MOONLIGHT  135 

Our  only  safety  was  in  flight ;  and  like  a  ship  driven 
before  a  tempest  which  she  cannot  withstand,  and 
which  has  threatened  her  ruin,  we  turned  our  backs 
to  the  gale  ;  and,  hastening  down  the  slope,  we  ran  to 
save  our  lives. 

We  traveled  upwards  of  forty  miles,  and  had  de- 
scended about  three  thousand  feet  before  we  ventured 
to  halt.  The  wind  was  much  less  severe  at  this  point 
than  at  the  higher  level,  and  the  temperature  had 
risen  twelve  degrees.  Although  we  reposed  without 
risk,  yet  our  canvas  shelter  was  very  cold ;  and,  not- 
withstanding the  reduced  force  of  the  gale,  there  was 
some  difficulty  in  keeping  the  tent  from  being  blown 
away. 

We  reached  Port  Foulke  the  next  evening,  after  a 
toilsome  march,  without  having  suffered  any  serious 
accident. 

The  latter  part  of  the  journey  was  made  wholly  by 
moonlight.  The  air  was  found  to  be  quite  calm  when 
we  reached  the  base  of  the  glacier ;  and  the  journey 
down  its  lower  face,  and  through  the  gorge,  and  over 
the  valley,  and  across  Alida  Lake  and  the  Fiord,  was 
made  in  the  presence  of  a  scene  which  was  very  im- 
pressive. Sheets  of  drifting  snow  swept  over  the 
white-crested  hills  like  insubstantial  spirits  flitting 
wildly  through  the  night.  These  told  that  the  gale 
yet  howled  above ;  but  in  our  lowly  shelter  the  air 
wras  still  as  a  cave  in  the  midst  of  winds.  No  cloud 
obscured  the  broad  archway  of  the  skies.  The  gentle 
stars,  robed  in  the  drapery  of  night,  rejoiced  to  behold 
their  forms  in  the  smooth  mirror  of  the  lake.  The 
glacier  threw  back  the  chilly  moonbeams.  The  shad- 
ows of  the  dark  cliffs  stole  into  the  flood  of  light 
which  filled  the  valley.  The  white  Fiord,  dotted  with 


136 


AN  IMPRESSIVE  SCENE. 


islands,  wound  between  the  rugged  capes,  and  its 
ice-clad  waters  spread  out  into  the  bay  and  then 
merged  with  the  broad  sea.  In  the  dim  distance 
loomed  up  the  lofty  snow-clad  mountains  of  the  west 
coast.  Upon  the  sea  floated  a  heavy  bank  of  mist, 
which,  slowly  changing  when  moved  by  the  wind,  dis- 
closed within  its  dark  bosom  the  ghostly  form  of  an 
iceberg ;  and  a  feeble  auroral  light  fringed  this  sombre 
cloak  of  the  waves.  Angry  flashes  darted  from  be- 
hind this  mass  of  impenetrable  blackness,  and,  rush- 
ing fiercely  among  the  constellations,  seemed  like 
fiery  arrows  shot  lip  by  evil  spirits  of  another  world. 


CHAPTER  XT. 

IMPORTANT  RESULTS  OF  THE  RECENT  JOURNEY  —  THE  GLACIER  SYSTEM  Of 
GREENLAND.  —  GENERAL  DISCUSSION  .OF  THE  SUBJECT.  —  ILLUSTRATIONS 
DRAWN  FROM  THE  ALPINE  GLACIERS.  —  GLACIER  MOVEMENT.  —  OUTLINK 
OF  THE  GREENLAND  MER  DE  GLACE. 

THE  results  of  the  journey  recorded  in  the  last 
chapter  gave  me  great  satisfaction.  They  furnished 
an  important  addition  to  the  observations  which  I  had 
made  in  former  years ;  and  I  was  glad  to  have  an 
opportunity  to  form  a  more  clear  conception  of  the 
glacier  system  of  Greenland.  The  journey  possesses 
the  greater  value,  that  it  was  the  first'  successful 
attempt  which  had  been  made  to  penetrate  into  the 
interior  over  the  mer  de  glace. 

Although  I  had,  in  my  overland  journey  from  Van 
Rensselaer  Harbor  with  Mr.  Wilson,  in  1853,  reached 
the  face  of  the  mer  de  glace',  where  it  rested  behind  the 
lofty  chain  of  hills  which  runs  parallel  with  the  axis 
of  the  continent,  yet  this  was  the  first  time  that  I  had 
actually  been  upon  it ;  and  its  vastness  did  not  on  the 
former  occasion  impress  me  as  now.  Even  the  de- 
scription of  the  great  Humboldt  Glacier  which  I  had 
from  Mr.  Bonsall,  and  the  knowledge  that  I  had  ac- 
quired of  the  immense  glacier  discharges  of  the  region 
further  south,  failed  to  inspire  me  with  a  full  compre- 
hension of  the  immensity  of  ice  which  lies  in  the  val- 
leys and  upon  the  sides  of  the  Greenland  mountains. 

Greenland  may  indeed  be  regarded  as  a  vast  reservoir 


138  THE  GLACIER  SYSTEM. 

of  ice  Upon  the  slopes  of  its  lofty  hills  the  downy 
snow-flake  has  become  the  hardened  crystal ;  and,  in- 
creasing little  by  little  from  year  to  year  and  from 
century  to  century,  a  broad  cloak  of  frozen  vapor  has 
at  length  completely  overspread  the  land,  and  along 
its  wide  border  there  pour  a  thousand  crystal  streams 
into  the  sea. 

The  manner  of  this  glacier  growth,  beginning  in 
some  remote  epoch,  when  Greenland,  nursed  in 
warmth  and  sunshine,  was  clothed  with  vegetation, 
is  a  subject  of  much  interest  to  the  student  of  physi- 
cal geography.  The  explanation  of  the  phenomena 
is,  however,  greatly  simplified  by  the  knowledge  which 
various  explorers  have  contributed  from  the  Alps, — 
a  quarter  having  all  the  value  of  the  Greenland  moun- 
tains, as  illustrating  the  laws  which  govern  the  for- 
mation and  movements  of  mountain  ice,  and  which 
possesses  the  important  advantage  of  greater  accessi- 
bility. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  the  scope  and  design  of  this 
book  to  enter  into  any  general  discussion  of  the  vari- 
ous theories  which  have  been  put  forth  in  explanation 
of  the  sublime  phenomena,  which,  as  witnessed  in  the 
Alpine  regions,  have  furnished  a  fruitful  source  of 
widely  different  conclusions.  It  was,  however,  easy 
to  perceive  in  the  grand  old  bed  of  ice  over  which  I 
had  traveled,  those  same  physical  markings  which  had 
arrested  the  attention  of  Agassiz  and  Forbes  and  Tyn- 
dall,  and  other  less  illustrious  explorers  of  Alpine  gla- 
ciers ;  and  it  was  a  satisfaction  to  have  confirmed  by 
actual  experiment  in  the  field  the  reflections  of  the 
study.  The  subject  had  long  been  to  me  one  of  great 
interest ;  and  I  was  much  gratified  to  be  able  to  make 
a  comparison  between  the  Alpine  and  Greenland  ice. 


GLACIERS.  139 

It  was  not  difficult  to  read  in  the  immense  deposit 
over  which  I  had  walked  whence  came  the  suggestion 
of  dilatation  to  Scheuchzer,  or  of  sliding  to  De  Saussure ; 
or,  in  the  steady  progress  of  knowledge  and  discovery, 
the  principles  of  action  that  are  illustrated  by  the 
terms  vitrious  and  viscous  and  differential  motion,  as  ap- 
plied to  the  Alpine  ice  by  eminent  -explorers  of  later 
date. 

The  subject  of  Greenland  ice  is  one  about  which 
there  exists  much  popular  misapprehension.  As  be- 
fore stated,  I  do  not  here  propose  to  enter  into  a 
minute  discussion  of  the  manner  of  its  formation  and 
movement,  but  will  content  myself  with  simply  recog- 
nizing the  fact,  and  with  drawing  such  comparison  as 
may  be  needful  between  the  mountain  ice  of  Green- 
land and  similar  deposits  in  other  quarters  of  the 
world.  Under  this  head  I  trust  that  the  reader  may 
find  sufficient  interest  in  the  line  of  argument  to  fol- 
low me  through  a  few  pages,  in  a  general  review  of 
the  whole  field.  At  a  later  period  I  will  recur  to  some 
more  specific  details  of  information  and  discussion,  as 
the  narrative  carries  us  to  other  objects  of  inquiry. 

In  order  to  make  the  subject  clear,  I  cannot  do 
better  than  to  cite  my  illustrations  from  the  region 
of  the  Alps,  where,  through  a  long  period,  earnest 
explorers  have  laboriously  pursued  their  inquiries. 
One  of  the  most  important  and  gifted  of  these  was 
M.  Le  Chanonie  Rendu,  Bishop  of  Annecy.  This  ex- 
cellent and  worthy  man,  and  sincere  devotee  as  well 
of  science  as  of  religion,  died  some  seven  years  ago. 
A  lifetime  spent  among  the  rugged  crags  and  ice-cliffs 
of  the  Alpine  Mountains  had  familiarized  him  with 
every  phase  of  Nature  in  that  region  of  sublimity  and 
home  of  the  wonderful.  Professor  Tyndall  says  truly 


MO  OLUGIX   OF   GLACIKRS. 

of  him,  that  "his  knowledge  was  extensive,  his  rea- 
soning close  and  accurate,  and  his  faculty  of  observa- 
tion extraordinary;"  and  he  early  brought  his  splen- 
did faculties  of  mind  and  his  energy  of  body  and 
profound  love  of  truth  to  bear  upon  the  elucidation 
of  those  natural  phenomena  which  were  constantly 
exhibited  in  his  presence.  After  many  years  of  con- 
scientious toil,  he  gave  to  the  world  the  results  of  his 
systematic  investigations  in  an  essay  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences of  Savoy,  entitled,  "  Theorie  des  Glaciers  de  la 
Savoie" 

I  will  use  the.  information  acquired  from  this  source 
as  the  basis  of  my  present  argument,  —  to  demon- 
strate, by  the  law  as  interpreted  to  us  from  the  Alps 
by  this  learned  priest  of  Annecy,  how  the  Arctic  con- 
tinent receives  its  cloak  of  crystals,  and  how  it  dis- 
charges the  superabundant  accumulation. 

Rendu  first  observes  the  piling  up  of  the  mountain 
snows.  The  snow  falling  upon  the  mountains  is  partly 
converted  into  water,  which  runs  away  to  the  river, 
and  through  the  river  to  the  sea ;  and  is  partly  con- 
verted into  ice.  The  ice  thus  formed  Rendu  estimates 
to  equal,  in  the  Alps,  fifty-eight  inches  annually, — 
"which  would  make  Mont  Blanc  four  hundred  feet 
higher  in  a  century,  and  four  thousand  feet  higher  in 
a  thousand  years." 

"  Now  it  is  evident,"  observes  he,  "  that  nothing 
like  this  can  occur  in  Nature." 

This  ice  must  be  removed  by  the  operation  of  some 
natural  cause ;  and  observation  having  shown  that 
tlu's  actually  takes  place,  Rendu  occupies  himself  with 
methods  to  discover  how  Nature  has  performed  the 
task ;  and  he  comes  to  this  very  rational  conclusion : 


THE  LAW  OF   CIRCULATION.  141 

That  the  glacier  and  the  river  are  in  effect  the  same ; 
that  between  them  there  is  a  resemblance  so  com- 
plete that  it  is  impossible  to  find  in  the  latter  a  cir- 
cumstance which  does  not  exist  in  the  former ;  and 
as  the  river  drains  the  waters  which  fall  upon  the  hill- 
sides to  the  ocean,  so  the  glacier  drains  the  ice  which 
forms  from  the  snows  on  the  mountain-sides  down  to 
the  same  level : 

And  he  closes  his  argument  with  declaring  the 
Law:  — 

"  The  conserving  will  of  the  Creator  has  employed 
for  the  permanence  of  His  work  the  great  Law  of  Cir- 
culation, which,  strictly  examined,  is  found  to  reproduce 
itself  in  all  parts  of  Nature." 

And,  in  illustration  of  this  law,  we  see  that  the 
waters  circulate  from  the  ocean  to  the  air  by  evapora- 
tion, from  the  air  again  to  the  earth  in  the  form  of 
dews  and  rains  and  snows,  and  from  the  earth  back 
again  to  the  ocean  through  the  great  rivers  which 
have  gathered  up  the  little  streams  from  every  hill- 
side and  valley. 

Now  this  law  of  Circulation  is,  in  the  icy  regions  of 
the  Alps,  of  the  lofty  Himalayas,  of  the  Andes,  of  the 
mountains  of  Norway  and  of  Greenland,  the  same  as 
in  the  lower  and  warmer  regions  of  the  earth,  where 
the  rivers  drain  the  surface-water  to  the  sea. 

A  glacier  is  in  effect  but  a  flowing  stream  of  frozen 
water ;  and  the  river  systems  of  the  Temperate  and 
Equatorial  Zones  become  the  glacier  systems  of  the 
Arctic  and  Antarctic. 

We  have  now  seen  that  a  part  of  the  snow  which 
falls  upon  the  mountains  is  converted  into  ice,  and 
this  ice,  strange  though  it  seems,  is  movable.  By 
what  exact  principle  of  movement  has  not  yet  been 


142  MOVEMENT  OF  THE  GLACIERS. 

decided  to  the  mutual  satisfaction  of  the  learned,  but 
it  is  nevertheless  true.     Rendu  truly  remarks :  — 

"There  is  a  multitude  of  facts  which  would  seem 
to  necessitate  the  belief  that  the  substance  of  glaciers 
enjoys  a  kind  of  ductility,  which  permits  it  to  mould 
itself  to  the  locality  which  it  occupies,  to  grow  thin, 
to  swell  and  to  narrow  itself  like  a  soft  paste." 

And  this,  true  of  the  Alpine  passes,  is  true  also  of 
the  Greenland  valleys.  A  great  frozen  flood  is  pour- 
ing down  the  east  and  west  slopes  of  the  Greenland 
continent ;  and,  as  in  the  Alps,  what  is  gained  in 
height  by  one  year's  freezing  is  lost  by  the  downward 
flow  of  the  mobile  mass. 

And  this  movement  is  not  embarrassed  by  any  ob- 
stacle. The  lower  chains  of  hills  do  not  arrest  it,  for 
it  moulds  itself  to  their  form,  sweeps  through  every 
opening  between  them,  or  overtops  them.  Valleys 
do  not  interfere  with  its  onward  march,  for  the  frozen 
stream  enters  them,  and  levels  them  with  the  highest 
hills.  It  heeds  not  the  precipice,  for  it  leaps  over  it 
into  the  plain  below,  —  a  giant,  frozen  waterfall. 
Winter  and  summer  are  to  it  alike  the  same.  It 
moves  ever  forward  in  its  irresistible  career,  —  a  vast,. 
frozen  tide  swelling  to  the  ocean.  It  pours  through 
every  outlet  of  the  coast  ranges,  down  every  ravine 
and  valley,  overriding  every  impediment,  grinding 
and  crushing  over  the  rocks ;  and  at  length  it  comes 
upon  the  sea.  But  here  it  does  not  stop.  Pushing 
back  the  water,  it  makes  its  own  coast  line  ;  and, 
moving  still  onward,  accommodating  itself  to  every 
inequality  of  the  bed  of  the  sea,  as  it  had  before  done 
to  the  surface  of  the  land,  filling  up  the  wide  bay  or 
fiord,  expanding  where  it  expands,  narrowing  where 
it  narrows,  swallowing  up  the  islands  in  its  slow  and 


FORMATION   OF  ICEBERGS.  143 

steady  course,  it  finally  reaches  many  miles  beyond 
the  original  shore-line. 

And  now  it  has  attained  the  climax  of  its  progress. 

When,  long  ages  ago,  after  pouring  over  the  sloping 
land,  it  finally  reached  the  coast  and  looked  down  the 
bay  which  it  was  ultimately  to  fill  up,  its  face  was 
many  hundreds  of  feet  high.  Gradually  it  sank  belcw 
the  line  of  waters  as  it  moved  outward,  and  finally  its 
front  has  almost  wholly  disappeared. 

In  a  former  chapter  I  have  mentioned  that  a  block 
of  fresh-water  ice  floating  in  sea  water  rises  above  the  , 
surface  to  the  extent  of  one  eighth  of  its  weight  and 
bulk,  while  seven  eighths  of  it  are  below  the  surface. 
The  cause  of  this  is  too  well  known  to  need  more  than 
a  passing  explanation.  Every  school-boy  is  aware 
that  water,  in  the  act  of  freezing,  expands,  and  that  in 
the  crystal  condition  fresh  water  occupies  about  one 
tenth  more  space  than  when  in  a  fluid  state ;  and 
hence,  when  ice  floats  in  the  fresh  water  from  which  it 
was  formed,  one  tenth  of  it  is  exposed  above,  while  the 
remaining  nine  tenths  are  beneath  the  surface.  When 
this  same  fresh-water  ice  (which  it  will  be  remembered 
is  the  composition  of  the  glacier)  is  thrown  into  the 
sea,  the  proportion  of  that  above  to  that  below  being 
changed  from  one  and  nine  to  one  and  seven,  is  due  to 
the  greater  density  of  the  sea-Water,  caused  by  the 
salt  which  it  holds  in  solution. 

Now  it  will  be  obvious  that,  as  the  glacier  continues 
to  press  further  and  further  into  the  sea,  the  natural 
equilibrium  of  the  ice  must  ultimately  become  dis- 
turbed, —  that  is,  the  end  of  the  glacier  is  forced  fur- 
ther down  into  the  water  than  it  would  be  were  it 
free  from  restraint,  and  at  liberty  to  float  according  to 
the  properties  acquired  by  congelation.  The  moment 


144  FORMATION  OF  ICEBERGS. 

that  more  than  seven  eighths  of  its  front  are  below 
the  water  line,  the  glacier  will,  like  an  apple  pressed 
down  by  the  hand  in  a  pail  of  water,  have  a  tendency 
to  rise,  until  it  assumes  its  natural  equilibrium.  Now 
it  will  be  remembered  that  the  glacier  is  a  long  stream 
of  ice,  many  miles  in  extent,  and,  although  the  end 
may  have  this  tendency  to  rise,  yet  it  is,  for  a  time, 
held  down  firmly  by  the  continuity  of  the  whole  mass. 
At  length,  however,  as  the  end  of  the  glacier  buries 
itself  more  and  more  in  the  water,  the  tendency  to  rise 
becomes  stronger  and  stronger,  and  finally  the  force 
thus  generated  is  sufficient  to  break  off  a  fragment, 
which,  once  free,  is  buoyed  up  to  the  level  that  is  nat- 
ural to  it.  This  fragment  may  be  a  solid  cube  half  a 
mile  through,  or  even  of  much  greater  dimensions. 
The  disruption  is  attended  with  a  great  disturbance 
of  the  waters,  and  with  violent  sounds  which  may  be 
heard  for  many  miles ;  but,  floating  now  free  in  the 
water,  the  oscillations  which  the  sudden  change  im- 
parted to  it  gradually  subside ;  and,  after  acquiring  its 
natural  equilibrium,  the  crystal  mass  drifts  slowly  out 
to  sea  with  the  current,  and  is  called  an  ICEBERG.* 

And  thus  the  glacier  has  fulfilled  its  part  in  the 
great  law  of  Circulation  and  change. 

The  dew-drop,  distilled  upon  the  tropic  palm-leaf, 
falling  to  the  earth,  has  reappeared  in  the  gurgling 
spring  of  the  primeval  forest,  has  flown  with  the  riv- 
ulet to  the  river,  and  with  the  river  to  the  ocean ;  has 
then  vanished  into  the  air,  and,  wafted  northward  by 

1  It*  was  formerly  supposed  that  the  icebergs  were  discharged  by  the 
force  of  gravity,  but  this  error,  as  well  as  the  true  theory  of  berg  discharge, 
wis  pointed  out  by  Dr.  H.  Rink,  now  Royal  Inspector  of  South  Greenland. 
Some  fragments  are,  however,  detached  from  the  face  of  the  glacier  and 
fall  into  the  water,  but  these  are  always  necessarily  of  comparatively  small 
dimensions,  and  can  scarcely  be  called  bergs. 


THE   LAW   OF  CIRCULATION.  145 

the  unseen  wind,  has  fallen  as  a  downy  snow-flake  upon 
the  lofty  mountain,  where,  penetrated  by  a  solar  ray, 
it  has  become  again  a  little  globule  of  water,  and  the 
chilly  wind,  following  the  sun,  has  converted  this  glob- 
ule into  a  crystal ;  and  the  crystal  takes  up  its  wan- 
dering course  again,  seeking  the  ocean. 

But  where  its  movement  was  once  rapid,  it  is  now 
slow;  where  it  then  flowed  with  the  river  miles  in 
an  hour,  it  will  now  flow  with  the  glacier  not  more  in 
centuries ;  and  where  it  once  entered  calmly  into  the 
sea,  it  will  now  join  the  world  of  waters  in  the  midst 
of  a  violent  convulsion. 

We  have  thus  seen  that  the  iceberg  is  the  discharge 
of  the  Arctic  river,  that  the  Arctic  river  is  the  glacier, 
and  that  the  glacier  is  the  accumulation  of  the  frozen 
vapors  of  the  air.  We  have  watched  this  river,  mov- 
ing on  in  its  slow  and  steady  course  from  the  distant 
hills,  until  at  length  it  has  reached  the  sea ;  and  we 
have  seen  the  sea  tear  from  the  slothful  stream  a 
monstrous  fragment,  and  take  back  to  itself  its  own 
again.  Freed  from  the  shackles  which  it  has  borne  in 
silence  through  unnumbered  centuries,  this  new-born 
child  of  the  ocean  rushes  with  a  wild  bound  into  the 
arms  of  the  parent  water,  where  it  is  caressed  by  the 
surf  and  nursed  into  life  again ;  and  the  crystal  drops 
receive  their  long-lost  freedom,  and  fly  away  on  the 
laughing  waves  to  catch  once  more  the  sunbeam,  and 
to  run  again  their  course  through  the  long  cycle  of 
the  ages. 

And  this  iceberg  has  more  significance  than  the 
great  flood  which  the  glacier's  southern  sister,  the 
broad  Amazon,  pours  into  the  ocean  from  the  slopes 
of  the  Andes  and  the  mountains  of  Brazil.  Solemn, 

stately,  and  erect,  in  tempest  and  in  calm,  it  rides  the 
10 


146          BEAUTY  AND   GRANDEUR   OF  ICEBERGS. 

deep.  The  restless  waves  resound  through  its  broken 
archways  and  thunder  against  its  adamantean  walls. 
Clouds,  impenetrable  as  those  which  shielded  the 
graceful  form  of  Arethusa,  clothe  it  in  the  morning ; 
under  the  bright  blaze  of  the  noonday  sun  it  is  ar- 
mored in  glittering  silver ;  it  robes  itself  in  the  gor- 
geous colors  of  evening ;  and  in  the  silent  night  the 
heavenly  orbs  are  mirrored  in  its  glassy  surface. 
Drifting  snows  whirl  over  it  in  the  winter,  and  the 
sea-gulls  swarm  round  it  in  the  summer.  The  last 
rays  of  departing  day  linger  upon  its  lofty  spires ;  and 
when  the  long  darkness  is  past  it  catches  the  first 
gleam  of  the  returning  light,  and  its  gilded  dome  her- 
alds the  coming  morn.  The  Elements  combine  to 
render  tribute  to  its  matchless  beauty.  Its  loud  voice 
is  wafted  to  the  shore,  and  the  earth  rolls  it  from  crag 
to  crag  among  the  echoing  hills.  The  sun  steals 
through  the  veil  of  radiant  fountains  which  flutter 
over  it  in  the  summer  winds,  and  the  rainbow  on  its 
pallid  cheek  betrays  the  warm  kiss.  The  air  crowns 
it  with  wreaths  of  soft  vapor,  and  the  waters  around 
it  take  the  hues  of  the  emerald  and  the  sapphire.  In 
fulfillment  of  its  destiny  it  moves  steadily  onward  in 
its  blue  pathway,  through  the  varying  seasons  and 
under  the  changeful  skies.  Slowly,  as  in  ages  long 
gone  by  it  arose  from  the  broad  waters,  so  does  it  sink 
back  into  them.  It  is  indeed  a  noble  symbol  of  the 
Law,  —  a  monument  of  Time's  slow  changes,  more  an- 
cient than  the  Egyptian  Pyramids  or  the  obelisk  of 
Heliopolis.  Its  crystals  were  dew-drops  and  snow- 
flakes  long  before  the  human  race  was  born  in  Eden. 
The  glacier  by  which  I  had  ascended  to  the  mer  de 
glace  furnishes  a  fine  illustration  of  growth  and  move- 
ment as  I  have  described  it.  Coming  down  from  the 


THE  HER  DE  GLACE.  147 

mer  de  glace  in  a  steadily  flowing  stream,  it  has  at 
length  filled  up  the  entire  valley  in  which  it  rests  for 
a  distance  of  ten  miles  ;  and  its  terminal  face,  which, 
as  heretofore  stated,  is  one  mile  across,  is  now  two 
miles  from  the  sea.  The  angles  and  measurements 
of  October,  1860,  were  repeated  in  July,  1861,  as  I 
shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  illustrate,  and  the  re- 
sult showed  the  rate  of  progress  of  the  glacier  to  be 
upwards  of  one  hundred  feet  annually.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  more  than  a  century  will  elapse  before  the 
front  of  the  glacier  arrives  at  the  sea ;  and  since  six 
miles  must  be  traveled  over  before  it  reaches  deep 
water,  at  least  five  hundred  years  will  transpire  before 
it  discharges  an  iceberg  of  any  considerable  magni- 
tude. The  movement  of  this  glacier  is  much  more 
rapid  than  others  which  I  have  explored.  From  "  My 
Brother  John's  Glacier"  the  margin  of  the  mer  de 
place  sweeps  around  behind  the  lofty  hills  back  of 
Port  Foulke,  and  comes  down  to  the  sea  in  a  discharg- 
ing glacier  above  Cape  Alexander.  This  has  a  face 
of  two  miles,  and  some  small  icebergs  are  disengaged 
from  it.  Thence,  after  surrounding  Cape  Alexander, 
embracing  it  as  with  the  arm  of  a  mighty  giant,  it 
comes  again  into  the  water  on  its  south  side  ;  and, 
continuing  thence  southward  in  a  succession  of  broad 
and  irregular  curves,  a  frozen  river  is  poured  out  from 
this  great  inland  sea  of  ice  through  every  valley  of 
the  Greenland  coast  from  Smith's  Sound  to  Cape  Fare- 
well, and  from  Cape  Farewell  on  the  Spitzbergen  side 
northward  to  the  remotest  boundary  of  the  explored. 
Northward  from  "  My  Brother  John's  Glacier "  it 
makes  a  broad  curve  in  the  rear  of  the  hills  hitherto 
mentioned,  and  opposite  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor  it  is 
between  fifty  and  sixty  miles  from  the  sea,  where 


148 


THE  MER  DE  GLACE. 


it  was  reached  by  Mr.  Wilson  and  myself,  as  before 
stated.  Its  first  appearance  upon  the  coast  in  that 
direction  is  at  the  head  of  Smith's  Sound,  in  the 
great  Humboldt  Glacier,  which  is  reputed  to  be  sixty 
miles  across.  Beyond  this  it  presses  upon  Washing- 
ton Land,  and  thence  stretches  away  into  the  region 
of  the  unknown. 


CHAPTEK  XII. 

MY  CABIN.  —  SURVEYING.  —  CASTOR  AND  POLLUX.  —  CONCERNING  SCURVY.  — 
DANGERS  OF  EATING  COLD  SNOW.  —  KNORR  AND  STARR.  —  FROST-BITES.  — 
HANS,  PETER,  AND  JACOB  AGAIN.  —  COAL  ACCOUNT.  —  THE  FIRES.  —  COM- 
FORT OF  OUR  QUARTERS.  —  THE  HOUSE  ON  DECK.  —  MILD  WEATHER.  — 
JENSEN.  — MRS.  HANS.  — JOHN  WILLIAMS,  THE  COOK.  — A  CHEERFUL  EVEN- 
ING. 

AFTER  a  sound  sleep  had  in  some  measure  worn  off 
the  fatigues  of  the  journey  on  the  glacier,  I  returned 
to  my  diary:  — 

October  28th. 

I  am  not  sorry  to  get  back  again  into  my  cosy  little 
cabin.  I  never  knew  before  what  a  snug  home  I  have 
in  the  midst  of  this  Arctic  wilderness.  A  few  days  on 
the  ice  and  a  few  nights  in  a  tent  were  required  to 
give  me  a  proper  appreciation  of  its  comforts.  Once 
1  had  begun  to  regard  it  as  a  dingy,  musty  cell,  fit 
only  for  a  convict.  Now  it  is  a  real  "  weary  man's 
rest,"  an  oasis  in  a  desert,  a  port  in  a  storm.  The 
bright  rays  of  the  "fine-eyed  Ull-Erin"  were  not  a 
more  cheering  guide  to  the  love-bound  Ossian  than 
was  the  glimmer  of  this  cabin-lamp  as  I  came  in  last 
night  from  the  cold,  —  trudging  across  the  wraste  of 
snows. 

The  curtains  which  inclose  what  is  my  lounge  by 
day  and  my  bed  by  night  have  taken  on  a  brighter 
crimson.  The  wolf  and  bear  skins  which  cover  the 
lounge  and  the  floor,  protecting  my  feet  against  the 
frost  which  strikes  up  from  below,  are  positively  luxu- 


150  MY  CABIN. 

rious ;  the  lamp,  which  I  thought  burned  with  a  sickly 
sort  of  flame,  is  a  very  Drummond  light  compared 
with  what  it  was ;  the  clock,  which  used  to  annoy  me 
with  its  ceaseless  ticking,  now  makes  grateful  music  ; 
the  books,  which  are  stuck  about  in  all  available 
places,  seem  to  be  lost  friends  found  again ;  and  the 
little  pictures,  which  hang  around  wherever  there  is 
room,  seem  to  smile  upon  me  with  a  sort  of  sympa- 
thetic cheerfulness.  Rolls  of  maps,  unfinished  sketches, 
scraps  of  paper,  all  sorts  of  books,  including  stray  vol- 
umes of  the  "  Penny  Cyclopaedia  "  and  Soyer's  "  Prin- 
ciples of  Cooking,"  drawing  implements,  barometer 
cases,  copies  of  Admiralty  Blue  Books,  containing  re- 
ports of  the  Arctic  Search,  track  charts  of  all  those 
British  worthies,  from  Ross  to  Rae,  who  have  gone  in 
search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  litter  the  floor ;  and,  in- 
stead of  annoying  me  with  their  presence,  as  they  used 
to  do,  they  seem  to  possess  an  air  of  quiet  and  refresh- 
ing comfort.  My  little  pocket-sextant  and  compass, 
hanging  on  their  particular  peg,  my  rifle  and  gun  and 
flask  and  pouch  on  theirs,  with  my  traveling  kit  be- 
tween them,  break  the  blank  space  on  the  bulk-head 
before  me,  and  seem  to  speak  a  language  of  their  own. 
My  good  and  faithful  friend  Sonntag  sits  opposite  to 
me  at  the  table,  reading.  I  write  nestling  among  my 
furs,  with  my  journal  in  my  lap ;  and  when  I  contrast 
this  night  with  the  night  on  the  glacier  summit,  and 
listen  now  to  the  fierce  wind  which  howls  over  the 
deck  and  through  the  rigging,  and  think  how  dark 
and  gloomy  every  thing  is  outside  and  how  light  and 
cheerful  every  thing  is  here  below,  I  believe  that  I 
have  as  much  occasion  to  write  myself  down  a  thank- 
ful man,  as  I  am  very  sure  I  do,  for  once  at  least,  a 
contented  one. 


SURVEYING.  151 

Sonntag  has  given  me  a  report  of  work  done  during 
my  absence,  and  so  has  McCormick.  With  Jensen  I 
have  had  a  talk  about  the  hunt.  I  have  dined  with 
the  officers,  and  all  goes  "  merry  as  a  marriage  bell." 
My  companions  on  the  journey  have  recovered  from 
their  fatigue,  and  they  seem  none  the  worse  for  the 
tramp,  except  such  of  them  as  have  been  touched  by 
the  frost;  and  these  look  sorry  enough.  They  get 
little  consolation  from  their  shipmates. 

I  am  much  gratified  to  find  that  every  thing  has 
gone  on  so  smoothly  while  I  was  away.  Sonntag  has 
been  twice  to  the  glacier,  and  has  finished  the  survey 
and  made  some  spirited  sketches.  He  has  also  done 
some  valuable  work  on  a  base  line,  accurately  meas- 
ured upon  the  ice  of  the  outer  bay.  This  base  line 
is  9100  feet  long,  and  his  triangulations  give  the  fol- 
lowing distances  from  the,  western  point  of  Starr 
Island :  — 

To  Cape  Alexander,  8  nautical  miles. 
"       «       Isabella,      31       "  " 

«       «       Sabine,       42       "  « 

My  commands  respecting  the  hunt  have  been  care- 
fully observed,  and  numerous  additions  have  been 
made  to  our  rapidly  accumulating  stock  of  fresh  food. 
This  gives  me  much  gratification.  My  experience 
with  Dr.  Kane  has  led  me  to  believe  that  the  scurvy, 
hitherto  so  often  fatal  to.  Arctic  travelers,  may  be 
readily  avoided  by  the  liberal  use  of  a  fresh  animal 
diet ;  and,  although  I  have  a  fair  supply  of  canned 
meats  and  a  good  allowance  of  fresh  vegetables,  yet 
I  do  not  wish  to  depend  wholly  upon  them ;  and,  in 
order  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  spare  no  pains  in  securing  whatever  game  is 
within  our  reach.  Accordingly  I  have  always  had  a 


152  CONCERNING  SCURVY:. 

well-organized  party  of  hunters,  who  are  exempt  from 
other  duty,  and  this  system  I  propose  continuing. 
The  result  thus  far  has  shown  the  correctness  of  my 
plan.  A  more  healthy  ship's  company  could  not  be 
desired.  Not  a  single  case  of  illness  has  yet  oc- 
curred. I  do  not  expect  to  have  any  scurvy  in  my 
party,  and  I  am  firmly  impressed  with  the  belief  th.it 
at  Port  Foulke  men  might  live  indefinitely  without 
being  troubled  with  that  "'dread  scourge  of  the  Arctic 
Zone."  I  do  not,  however,  wholly  rely  upon  the  hunt- 
ers. The  moral  sentiments  have  much  to  do  with 
health  everywhere;  and,  with  the  best  food  in  the 
world,  unhappiness  will  make  more  than  the  heart 
sick.  For  my  own  part,  I  would  rather  take  my 
chances  against  the  scurvy  with  the  herbs  and  the 
love,  than  with  hatred  and  the  stalled  ox.  Luckily 
my  ship's  company  are  as  harmonious  and  happy  as 
they  are  healthy,  and  the  fault  will  be  mine  if  they 
do  not  continue  so. 

Our  game-list,  according  to  Knorr,  who  keeps  the 
tally,  sums  up  as  follows  :  Reindeer  74,  foxes  21,  hares 
12,  seals  1,  eider-ducks  14,  dovekies  8,  auks  6,  ptarmi- 
gan 1.  This  includes  all  that  has  been  brought  on 
board  from  the  beginning.  Besides  these  substantial 
contributions  to  our  winter  supplies,  there  are  some 
twenty  or  thirty  reindeer  cached  in  various  places, 
which  are  available  whenever  we  choose  to  bring 
them  in.  The  dogs  are  the  largest  consumers. 

I  find  McCormick  suffering  with  a  sore  throat  and 
swelled  tongue,  resulting  from  eating  snow.  Leaving 
me  at  the  glacier,  he  set  out  to  return  on  board,  and, 
growing  thirsty  by  the  way,  without  being  aware  of 
the  evil  consequences  likely  to  result  therefrom,  com- 
menced eating  snow  to  quench  it.  The  effect  of  this 


CASTOR  AND  POLLUX.  153 

indulgence  was  so  to  inflame  the  mucous  membrane 
as,  in  the  end,  to  render  the  thirst  greater  and  greater 
the  more  the  desire  was  indulged.  Finally  respiration 
became  difficult  and  painful,  and  he  arrived  on  board 
much  exhausted.  It  is  a  good  lesson  for  the  ship's 
company,  —  a  fact  doubtless  more  consoling  to  me 
than  to  the  sufferer. 

October  29th. 

I  went  out  to-day  with  Mr.  Sonntag  to  his  base  line, 
and  made  some  further  measurements.  In  that  direc- 
tion there  are  a  couple  of  mammoth  icebergs,  which 
I  have  named  "  The  Twins."  They  loom  up  grandly 
against  the  dark  western  sky.  Castor  carries  his  head 
230  feet  above  the  sea,  and  Pollux,  though  of  smaller 
dimensions,  is. seventeen  feet  higher. 

After  our  usual  evening  game  of  chess,  we  have 
talked  over  some  further  projects  for  the  field;  I 
propose  a  drive  into  the  region  of  Humboldt  Glacier, 
Sonntag  one  to  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor.  It  is  impor- 
tant that  the  meridian  of  this  latter  place  should  be 
connected  with  that  of  Port  Foulke.  I  yield  to  Sonn- 
tag for  the  present,  and  he  starts  the  day  after  to- 
morrow, weather  permitting,  —  a  proviso  peculiarly 
necessary  in  this  blustering  place.  There  is  very  little 
light  left  to  us,  but  the  moon  is  full,  and  will  probably 
serve  to  guide  the  party.  There  was  not  even  the 
faintest  streak  of  light  to-day  at  three  o'clock. 

October  30th. 

Sonntag  is  all  ready  to  start.  He  will  take  two 
sledges,  with  Jensen  and  Hans  for  drivers.  They  are 
prepared  for  seven  days'  absence.  I  have  allowed 
Sonntag  to  provide  his  own  equipment,  without  inter- 
ference. He  has,  I  think,  made  it  a  little  more  cum- 


154  FROST-BITES. 

brous  than  he  should,  —  a  little  too  much  for  personal 
comfort,  that  will  be  dead  weight.  Traveling  in  this 
region  is  governed  by  very  rigorous  laws,  and  very 
little  latitude  is  allowed  in  the  choice  of  one's  outfit. 
There  is  probably  no  place  in  the  world  where  the 
traveler  is  compelled  to  deny  himself  so  completely 
those  little  articles  of  convenience  which  contribute 
so  much  to  the  personal  satisfaction.  On  shipboard 
he  may  indulge  his  taste  for  luxury  to  the  extent  of 
his  means ;  but  when  he  takes  to  the  ice-fields  and 
the  dog-sledge  he  must  come  down  to  hard  fare  and 
carry  nothing  but  what  is  absolutely  necessary  to  sus- 
tain life,  —  and  this  is  simply  meat,  bread,  and  coffee, 
or  tea  if  he  prefers  it.  The  snow  must  serve  for  his 
bed,  and  his  only  covering  must  be  what  is  just  suffi- 
cient to  keep  him  from  freezing.  Fire  he  cannot  have, 
except  the  needful  lamp  to  cook  his  food,  and  if  he 
should  get  cold  he  must  warm  himself  by  exercise. 
During  my  late  journey  to  the  glacier,  I  carried  for 
fuel  only  three  quarts  of  alcohol  and  the  same  quan- 
tity of  oil,  and  this  was  not  all  used. 

I  went  this  morning  into  the  hold  to  look  after  my 
companions  on  the  recent  journejr.  They  have  all 
recovered  from  their  little  frost-bites  except  Christian, 
whose  nose  is  as  big  as  his  fist  and  as  red  as  a  beet. 
He  takes  good-naturedly  the  jeers  of  his  messmates. 
Knorr  is,  however,  almost  as  badly  off  in  the  nasal  re- 
gion as  Christian,  but  he  has  suffered  no  further  misad- 
venture. The  nose  is,  indeed,  a  serious  inconvenience 
to  the  Arctic  traveler,  for  it  insists  upon  exposing  it- 
self upon  every  occasion  ;  and  if  you  put  it  under  a 
mask,  it  revenges  itself  by  coaxing  the  moisture  of 
the  breath  up  beneath  it,  so  that  in  an  hour's  time  the 
intended  protector  becomes  a  worse  enemy  than  the 


KNORR  AND   STARR.  155 

wind  itself.  The  mask  is,  in  a  little  while,  but  a  lump 
of  ice. 

My  youthful  secretary,  by  the  way,  bore  up  bravelv 
on  the  tramp.  I  should  not  have  taken  him  but  foi 
his  constant  and  earnest  appeals.  There  does  not  ap- 
pear-to be  much  of  life  in  him,  but  he  has  pluck,  and 
that  is  an  excellent  substitute  ;  and  thus  far  this  qual 
ity  has  carried  him  through.  My  friends  told  me,  be- 
fore leaving  home,  that  I  was  needlessly  taking  him 
to  a  very  cold  grave  ;  but  he  does  not  appear  inclined 
to  fulfill  their  predictions,  and  seems  likely  to  hold  his 
own  with  the  hardestrfisted  sailor  of  the  crew.  He  is 
but  eighteen  years  old,  and,  except  Starr,  who  is  about 
the  same  age,  is  the  youngest  member  of  my  party. 
Starr,  too,  is  a  plucky  and  useful  boy.  He  got  into 
the  party  against  my  intentions,  but  I  am  very  far 
from  sorry.  Inspired  with  enthusiasm  for  Arctic  ad- 
venture, he  volunteered  to  go  with  me  in  any  capac- 
ity ;  <ind,  having  no  convenient  room  in  the  cabin,  I 
told  him  that  he  could  go  in  the  forecastle,  little 
dreaming  that  he  would  accept  my  offer;  but,  sure 
enough,  he  turned  up  the  next  day  in  sailor's  rig.  His 
bright  beaver  and  shining  broadcloth  and  polished 
pumps  had  given  place  to  cap  and  red  shirt  and  sea 
boots,  and  I  went  on  board  to  find  the  metamorphosed 
boy  of  recent  elegance  manfully  at  work.  Admiring 
his  spirit,  I  promoted  him  on  the  spot,  and  sent  him 
aft  to  the  sailing-master,  —  the  best  I  could  do  for 
him. 

The  rivalry  between  Hans  and  Peter  waxes  warmer. 
My  sympathies  go  with  the  latter,  of  which  I  have  to- 
day given  substantial  proof.  Up  to  this  time  Hans  has 
had  charge  of  Sonntag's  team,  and  has  used  it  pretty 
much  as  he  pleased ;  but  he  being  absent  this  morn- 


156  HANS,  PETER,   AND  JACOB. 

ing,  and  Jensen  being  off  after  some  venison,  I  used 
Peter  to  drive  me  to  the  lower  glacier,  where  I  wished 
to  make  some  sketches.  It  appears  that  this  excited 
Hans'  ire  against  poor  Peter ;  which  fact  being  duly 
reported  by  Jensen,  I  have  taken  the  dogs  from  Hans 
and  given  them  into  Peter's  exclusive  charge.  So  one 
savage  is  pleased  and  the  other  is  displeased ;  but  we 
shall  probably  have  no  public  exhibitions  of  his  spleen, 
as  I  have  read  him  a  lecture  upon  the  evil  conse- 
quences arising  from  the  display  of  ill-temper,  which 
he  will  probably  remember,  —  as  likely,  however,  for 
evil  as  for  good  ;  for  he  is  not  of  a  forgiving  disposi- 
tion. Jensen  tells  me  that  "  they  have  made  friends," 
which  probably  means  mischief. 

Hans  seems  to  retain  the  intelligence  for  which  he 
was  distinguished  when  in  the  Advance.  His  charac- 
ter has  undergone  but  little  change,  and  his  face  ex- 
presses the  same  traits  as  formerly,  —  the  same 
smooth,  oily  voice,  the  same  cunning  little  eye,  the 
same  ugly  disposition.  I  have  very  little  faith  in 
him ;  but  Sonntag  has  taken  him  into  his  favor,  and 
greatly  prefers  him  to  Jensen  for  a  dog-driver. 

Peter,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  fel- 
low, and  is  always  ready  and  willing  to  do  any  thing 
that  is  required  of  him,  even  by  the  sailors,  with  whom 
he  is  very  popular ;  and,  of  course,  as  with  good-nature 
everywhere,  he  is  sometimes  imposed  upon.  Jacob  is 
Peter's  brother,  and  he  continues  to  be  the  butt  of  the 
forecastle.  The  men  have  made  a  bargain  with  him, 
and,  according  to  all  accounts,  it  works  satisfactorily. 
He  is  to  wash  their  dishes,  and  they  in  return  are  to 
give  him  all  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  their  table.  On 
these  he  is  growing  more  and  more  fat,  and  he  has  now 
greater  difficulty  than  ever  in  getting  about.  There 


COAL  ACCOUNT.  157 

is  a  beam  in  the  fore-hold,  only  two  feet  and  a  half 
from  the  floor,  which  he  can  no  longer  climb  over. 
His  efforts  to  crawl  under  it  have  been  not  unaptly 
compared  to  those  of  a  seal  waddling  over  the  ice 
about  its  breathing-hole.  Mr.  Wardle's  fat  boy  was 
not  more  shapeless,  and,  like  that  plethoric  individual, 
he  chiefly  divides  his  time  between  eating  and  sleep- 
ing. His  cheeks  are  puffed  out  in  a  very  ridiculous 
manner,  arid  altogether  he  answers  very  well  the  de- 
scription of  Mirabeau's  corpulent  acquaintance,  who 
seemed  to  have  been  created  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  show  to  what  extent  the  human  skin  is  capa- 
ble of  being  stretched  without  bursting.  The  execu- 
tive officer  tells  me  that  he  sent  him  the  other  day  to 
the  upper  deck  to  dress  a  couple  of  reindeer ;  but, 
having  proceeded  far  enough  to  expose  a  tempting 
morsel,  he  halted  in  his  work,  carved  off  a  slice  of  the 
half-frozen  flesh,  and  was  found  some  time  afterwards 
fast  asleep  between  the  two  dead  animals,  with  the 
last  fragment  of  his  bonne  louche  dangling  from  his 
lips. 

November  1st. 

The  new  month  comes  in  stormy.  The  travelers 
were  to  have  set  out  to-day,  but  a  fierce  gale  detains 
them  on  board.  The  moon  is  now  three  days  past 
full,  and  if  they  are  delayed  much  longer  they  will 
scarcely  have  light  enough  for  the  journey. 

McCormick  and  Dodge  have  set  &  bear-trap  between 
the  icebergs  Castor  and  Pollux.  It  is  a  mammoth 
steel-trap,  and  is  baited  with  venison  and  fastened  with 
my  best  ice-anchor.  I  pity  the  poor  beast  that  gets 
his  foot  in  it. 

I  have  been  overhauling  our  coal  account,  and  have 
regulated  the  daily  consumption  for  the  winter.  We 


158  THE   HOUSE   ON  DECK. 

have  thirty-four  tons  on  board,  and  have  but  two  fires 
Two  and  a  half  buckets  full  a  day  go  to  the  galley 
stove  in  the  hold,  and  one  and  a  half  to  the  cabin ; 
and  with  this  consumption  of  fuel  the  people  live  in 
comfort  and  cook  their  food  and  melt  from  the  ice  an 
abundant  supply  of  water.  The  ice,  which  is  of  the 
clearest  and  purest  kind,  comes  from  a  little  berg 
which  is  frozen  up  in  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  about 
half  a  mile  away.  I  have  no  stove  in  my  own  cabin, 
all  the  heat  which  I  require  coming  to  me  across  the 
companion-way  through  the  slats  of  my  door,  from 
the  officers'  stove.  The  temperature  in  which  I  live 
ranges  from  40°  to  60°,  and,  among  my  furs,  I  lounge 
through  the  hours  that  I  do  not  spend  out  of  doors 
as  snug  and  comfortable  as  I  could  wish  to  be.  Some- 
thing of  my  comfort  is,  however,  due  to  the  excess  of 
heat  of  the  officers'  quarters.  The  temperature  of 
their  cabin  runs  sometimes  to  75°,  and  is  seldom  lower 
than  60°,  and  they  are  at  times  actually  sweltering. 
Our  quarters  are  throughout  free  from  dampness, 
and  are  well  ventilated.  A  portion  of  the  main-hatch 
above  the  men's  quarters  is  always  open,  and  the  com- 
panion-scuttle is  seldom  closed.  This  ventilation  being 
through  the  house  on  deck,  that  apartment  is  kept  at 
quite  a  comfortable  degree  of  warmth ;  and  it  is  a 
very  convenient  medium  between  the  lower  deck  and 
the  outer  air.  In  this  house  such  work  is  performed 
as  cannot  be  done  below ;  and  there,  in  the  dim  light 
of  the  signal-lamp,  which  hangs  suspended  from  the 
main-boom,  one  may  see  almost  at  any  time  a  motley 
group  of  men  working  or  playing,  as  the  case  may  be. 
Forward  in  one  corner  stands  Hans's  tent,  through 
the  slits  in  which  come  the  cheerful  glimmer  of  a 
lamp  and  the  lullaby  of  an  Esquimau  mother,  sooth- 


COMFORT  OF  OUR  QUARTERS.        159 

ing  to  sleep  her  "pretty  one."  On  the  opposite  side 
is  our  butcher-shop,  where  are  piled  up  a  lot  of  frozen 
reindeer,  awaiting  Marcus  and  Jacob,  —  the  butchers. 
Near  by  stands  our  portable  forge  and  anvil,  where 
McCormick  is  forever  blowing  the  hot  embers  and 
pounding  at  nobody  knows  what.  Dodge  says  "  he  is 
killing  time."  Under  the  window  amidships  stands 
the  carpenter's  bench  and  the  vice,  where  Christian, 
Jensen,  Peter,  and  Hans  are  always  tinkering  at  some 
hunting  or  sledge  implements,  —  while,  mingling  pro- 
miscuously on  the  deck,  the  officers  and  men  may  be 
seen  smoking  their  pipes,  and  apparently  intent  only 
upon  as  little  exertion  and  as  much  amusement  as  the 
Arctic  night  will  give  them.  A  cheerful  light  bursts 
up  from  below  through  the  hatchways,  bringing  with 
it  many  a  cheerful  laugh.  Around  the  mainmast 
stands  our  gun-rack,  and  near  by  is  a  neat  arrange- 
ment of  McCormick's  where  every  man  has  a  peg  for 
his  fur  coat,  as  we  do  not  bring  these  things  below, 
on  account  of  the  great  change  of  temperature  pro- 
ducing dampness  in  them. 

November  2d. 

The  barometer,  which  yesterday  sank  to  29.58,  has 
been  steadily  rising  since,  and  stands  now  at  29.98, 
giving  us  thus  a  reasonable  assurance  that  the  gale  will 
come  to  an  end  by  and  by,  and  let  the  travelers  off. 
The  gale  has  made  wild  work  with  the  ice,  breaking 
it  up  and  driving  it  out  to  the  southwest  until  the 
open  water  is  within  two  miles  of  the  schooner.  The 
"  twins "  are  right  upon  the  margin  of  it,  and,  were 
they  not  aground,  would  float  away.  One  of  Sonn- 
tag's  base-line  stations  has  drifted  off,  and  the  bear- 
trap  has  followed  after  it,  carrying  away  my  fine  ice- 
anchor.  Strange,  the  loose  ice  has  all  drifted  out  of 


160  MR.  JENSEN. 

sight,  and  not  a  speck  is  to  be  seen  upon  the  unhappy 
waters  which  roll  and  tumble  through  the  darkness 
around  Cape  Alexander. 

The  temperature  during  this  gale  has  been,  through- 
out, very  mild.  Although  the  wind  was  northeast,  it 
has  not  been  below  zero  at  any  tune. 

November  3d. 

The  travelers  are  off  at  last,  and  at  ten  o'clock  this 
evening  they  disappoint  me  by  not  returning.  Since 
it  is  evident  that  they  have  gone  around  Cape  Ohlsen, 
which  I  had  some  reason  to  doubt,  I  see  no  cause  why 
they  should  not  reach  their  destination.  They  will 
have,  however,  cracks  which  have  been  opened  by  the 
recent  gales,  and  doubtless  heavily  hummocked  ice,  to 
contend  with ;  and  I  hardly  know  how  Jensen  will  get 
on  with  this  sort  of  traveling.  Bad  enough  for  those 
who  are  accustomed  to  it,  it  will  be  a  sore  trial  to  him. 
He  is  a  splendid  whip,  and  drives  his  dogs  superbly 
when  the  ice  is  reasonably  smooth,  and  the  sledge 
glides  glibly  over  it  with  the  dogs  at  a  gallop  ;  but  this 
floundering  through  hummocks  and  deep  snow-drifts, 
where  the  sledge  has  to  be  lifted  and  is  often  capsized, 
where  the  dogs  are  continually  getting  into  a  snarl,  — 
their  traces  tangled,  their  tempers  ruffled,  and  a  gen- 
eral fight  resulting,  —  is  a  very  different  sort  of  busi- 
ness, and  is  what  he  is  not  used  to.  To  get  through 
with  it  one  requires  an  almost  superhuman  stock  of 
enduring  patience ;  and  if  Jensen  returns  from  this 
journey  with  a  good  record,  I  shall  have  no  fears  for 
him  in  the  future.  He  is  a  very  strong  and  able- 
bodied  man,  standing  six  feet  in  his  shoes,  and  is  of 
powerful  muscular  build.  The  knowledge  acquired 
by  some  eight  years'  residence  in  Greenland,  of  hunt- 


DOMESTIC  FELICITY. 

ing,  and  of  the  Esquimau  language,  which  he  speaks 
like  a  native,  and  of  the  English  which  he  has  picked 
up  from  the  British  whale-ships,  makes  him  one  of  the 
most  useful  members  of  my  party. 

The  men  have  been  busy  sewing  up  seal-skins  into 
coats,  pantaloons,  and  boots,  to  complete  their  winter 
wardrobe.  They  have  tried  very  hard  to  get  Mrs. 
Hans  to  do  this  work  for  them,  but  the  indolent  crea- 
ture persistently  refuses  to  sew  a  stitch.  She  is  the 
most  obstinate  of  her  sex ;  feels  perfectly  independent 
of  every  thing  and  of  everybody ;  pouts  fiercely  when 
she  is  not  pleased,  and  gets  the  sulks  about  once  a 
fortnight,  when  she  declares  most  positively  that  she 
will  abandon  Hans  and  the  white  men  forever,  and  go 
back  to  her  own  people.  She  once  tried  the  experi- 
ment, and  started  off  at  a  rapid  rate,  with  her  baby 
on  her  back,  towards  Cape  Alexander.  There  had 
evidently  been  a  domestic  spat.  Hans  came  out  of 
his  tent  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  and  stood  at 
the  window  leisurely  smoking  his  pipe,  and  watching 
her  in  the  most  unconcerned  manner  in  the  world. 
As  she  tripped  off  south  I  called  his  attention  to  her. 

"Yes  —  me  see." 

"  Where  is  she  going,  Hans  ?  " 

K  She  no  go.     She  come  back  —  all  right." 

"  But  she  will  freeze,  Hans  ?  " 

"  She  no  freeze.     She  come  back  by  by,  —  you  see." 

And  he  went  on  smoking  his  pipe  with  a  quiet 
chuckle  which  told  how  well  he  understood  the  whims 
of  his  beloved.  Two  hours  afterward  she  came  back, 
sure  enough,  very  meek  and  very  cold,  for  the  wind 
was  blowing  in  her  face. 

The  day  being  Saturday,  the  sailors  are  busy  by 

turns  at  the  wash-tub,  to  have   a  clean  turnout  for 
11 


162  A   CHEERFUL  DAY. 

Sunday,  on  which  day,  even  in  this  remote  corner  of 
the  world,  everybody  puts  on  his  best,  and  at  Sunday 
morning  muster  my  people  present  a  very  neat  and 
creditable  appearance.  The  gray  uniform  which  -I 
have  adopted  as  a  dress-suit  is  always  worn  on  that 
occasion,  both  by  officers  and  men.  Each  officer  has 
a  sailor  for  a  "  washerwoman,"  and  I  have  mine  ;  and 
Knorr  has  just  brought  me  in  the  most  encouraging 
accounts  of  his  skill,  and  as  a  proof  of  it  I  found  on 
my  table,  when  I  came  in  out  of  the  moonlight  from 
a  tramp  to  the  open  water,  (where  I  had  been  making 
some  observations  for  temperature,)  a  well-starched 
and  neatly  ironed  cambric  handkerchief,  sprinkled 
with  cologne. 

The  day,  for  some  reason  or  other,  seerns  to  have 
been  peculiarly  bright  and  cheerful  to  everybody,  and 
the  cheerfulness  runs  on  into  the  evening.  I  fancy 
that  our  old  cook  was  in  a  more  than  usually  good 
humor,  and  doubtless  this  has  had  something  to  do 
with  it.  For  my  own  part,  I  must  acknowledge  the 
power  of  his  artistic  skill  as  affecting  the  moral  sen- 
timents. My  walk  to  the  open  water  was  both  cold 
and  fatiguing.  Desiring  to  get  out  as  far  as  I  could, 
I  sprang  over  the  loose  ice-tables,  and  reached  an 
iceberg  near  "  The  Twins,"  which  I  mounted  ;  and, 
after  digging  a  hole  into  it,  found  that  it  had  a  tem- 
perature only  8°  lower  than  the  temperature  of  the 
water  that  floated  it,  which  was  29°.  I  scrambled 
back  to  the  fast  ice  as  quickly  as  I  could,  for  the  tide 
and  wind,  which  were  strong  from  the  land,  looked 
very  much  as  if  they  intended  to  carry  the  raft  out 
to  sea. 

To  come  back  to  the  cook,  —  I  was  in  a  condition 
upon  my  return  to  do  ample  justice  to  a  fillet  of  veni- 


JOHN  WILLIAMS,  THE   COOK.  163 

son,  garnished  with  currant-jelly,  which  was  await- 
ing me,  and  upon  the  preparation  of  which  the  cook 
had  evidently  exhausted  all  his  skill ;  and  afterward 
Knorr  made  for  me,  with  my  alcohol  furnace,  a  cup 
of  aromatic  Mocha. 

And  so  one  may  find  pleasure  even  where  Bacchus 
and  Cupid  deign  not  to  come.  True,  this  is  the  re- 
gion into  which  Apollo  voluntarily  wandered  after  the 
decree  of  Olympus  made  him  an  exile,  and  where  the 
Hellenic  poets  dreamed  of  men  living  to  an  incredible 
age,  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  possible  felicity;  but,  to 
say  the  truth,  I  question  the  wisdom  of  the  banished 
god,  as  tradition  makes  no  mention  of  a  schooner,  and 
I  find  that  in  this  "  Residence  of  Boreas "  one  must 
look  out  for  himself  pretty  sharply,  —  poets  to  the 
contrary,  notwithstanding. 

The  cook  brought  me  the  dinner  himself.  "  I  tinks 
de  Commander  likes  dis,"  said  he,  "  coming  from  de 
cold." 

"  Yes,  cook,  it  is  really  superb.  Now,  what  can  I  do 
for  you?" 

"  Tank  you,  sar !  I  tinks  if  de  Commander  would 
only  be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  a  clean  shirt,  I  shall  be 
very  tankful.  He  see  dis  one  be  very  dirty,  and  I 
gets  no  time  to  vash  him." 

"  Certainly,  cook,  you  shall  have  two." 

"  Tank  you,  sar ! "  —  and  he  bends  himself  half 
double,  meaning  it  for  a  bow,  and  goes  back  well 
pleased  to  his  stove  and  his  coppers. 

Our  cook  is  quite  a  character.  He  is  much  the  old- 
est man  on  board,  and  is  the  most  singular  mixture  of 
adverse  moral  qualities  that  I  have  ever  chanced  to 
meet.  He  makes  it  his  boast  that  he  has  never  been 
off  the  ship's  deck  since  leaving  Boston.  "  Vat  should 


164  A  CHEERFUL   EVENING. 

1  go  ashore  for  ?  "  said  he,  one  day,  to  some  of  the  offi- 
cers who  were  reciting  to  him  the  wonders  of  the  land. 
"  Me  go  ashore  !  De  land  be  very  good  place  to  grow 
de  vegetables,  but  it  no  place  to  be.  1  never  goes 
ashore  ven  I  can  help  it,  and  please  my  Hebenly 
Fader  I  never  vill." 

I  have  passed  an  hour  of  the  evening  very  pleas- 
antly with  the  officers  in  their  cabin,  have  had  my 
usual  game  of  chess  with  Knorr,  and  now,  having 
done  with  this  journal  for  the  day,  I  will  coil  myself 
up  in  my  nest  of  furs  and  read  in  Marco  Polo  of  those 
parts  of  the  world  where  people  live  without  an  effort, 
know  not  the  use  of  bear-skins,  and  die  of  fever. 
After  all,  one's  lines  might  fall  in  less  pleasant  places 
than  in  the  midst  of  an  Arctic  winter. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

INCREASING  DARKNESS.  —  DAILY  ROUTINE.  —  THE  JOURNAL.  —  OUR  HOME.— 
SUNDAY. —RETURN  OF  SONNTAQ.  —  A  BEAR-HUNT.  —  THE  OPEN  WATER.— 
ACCIDENT  TO  MR.  KNORR.  —  A  THAW.  — "  THE  PORT  FOULKE  WEEKLY 
NEWS.''  — THE  TIDE-REGISTER.  —  THE  FIRE-HOLE.  —  HUNTING  FOXES.— 
PETER. 

THE  steadily  increasing  darkness  was  driving  us 
more  and  more  within  doors.  We  had  now  scarcely 
any  light  but  that  of  the  moon  and  stars.  The  hunt 
was  not  wholly  abandoned,  but  so  few  were  the  hours 
wherein  we  could  see  that  it  had  become  unprofitable. 
The  gloom  of  night  had  settled  in  the  valleys  and  had 
crept  up  the  craggy  hills.  The  darkness  being  fairly 
upon  us,  we  had  now  little  other  concern  than  to  live 
through  it  and  await  the  spring,  and  a  return  to  active 
life  and  the  performance  of  those  duties  for  which 
our  voyage  had  been  undertaken.  As  a  part  of  the 
history  of  the  expedition,  I  will  continue  to  give  from 
my  diary  our  course  of  life. 

November  5th. 

Our  life  has  worked  itself  into  a  very  systematic  rou- 
tine. Our  habits  during  the  sunlight  were  naturally 
somewhat  irregular,  but  we  have  now  subsided  into 
absolute  method.  What  a  comfort  it  is  to  be  relieved 
of  responsibility !  How  kind  it  is  of  the  clock  to  tell 
as  what  to  do  !  The  ship's  bell  follows  it  through  the 
hours,  and  we  count  its  shrill  sounds  and  thereby 
know  precisely  how  to  act.  The  bell  tells  us  when  it 
is  half-past  seven  in  the  morning,  and  then  we  "  turn 


166  DAILY  ROUTINE. 

out."  An  hour  later  we  breakfast,  and  at  one  o'clock 
we  lunch.  We  dine  at  six,  and  at  eleven  we  put  out 
the  lights  and  "  turn  in,"  —  that  is,  everybody  but  the 
writer  of  this  journal  and  the  "  watch."  After  dinner 
I  usually  join  the  officers  at  a  game  of  whist,  or  in 
my  own  cabin  have  a  game  of  chess  with  Sonntag  or 
Knorr.  One  day  differs  very  little  from  another  day. 
Radcliffe  shows  me  the  record  of  the  weather  when 
he  has  made  it  up,  in  the  evening ;  and  it  is  almost  as 
monotonous  as  the  form  of  its  presentation.  The 
daily  report  of  ship's  duties  I  have  from  McCormick, 
but  that  does  not  present  any  thing  that  is  peculiarly 
enlivening.  I  make  a  note  of  what  is  passing,  in  this 
voluminous  journal,  —  partly  for  use,  partly  from 
habit,  and  partly  for  occupation.  The  readings  of  the 
magnetometer  and  the  barometers  and  thermometers, 
and  the  tide-register,  and  of  the  growth  of  the  ice, 
and  all  such  like  useful  knowledge,  find  a  place  on 
these  pages ;  but  novelties  are  rare,  and  when  they 
do  come  I  set  opposite  to  them  marginal  notes,  that  I 
may  pick  them  out  from  time  to  time  as  one  does  a 
happy  event  from  the  memory. 

The  ship's  duties  go  on  thus  :  —  After  breakfast  the 
men  "turn  to"  under  the  direction  of  Dodge,  and 
clear  up  the  decks  and  polish  and  fill  the  lamps ;  and 
a  detail  is  made  to  go  out  to  the  iceberg  for  our  daily 
supply  of  water.  Then  the  fire-hole  is  looked  after, 
the  dogs  are  fed,  the  allowance  of  coal  for  the  day  is 
measured  out,  the  store-room  is  unlocked  and  the  ra- 
ti  jns  are  served ;  and  before  lunch-time  comes  round 
the  labors  of  the  day  are  done.  After  lunch  we  take 
a  walk  for  exercise,  and  I  make  it  a  rule  that  every 
one  who  has  not  been  at  work  two  hours  must  spend 
at  least  that  much  time  in  walking  for  his  health. 


OUR  HOME.  Ib7 

For  my  own  part  I  take  an  almost  daily  drive 
around  the  bay  or  a  stroll  over  the  hills  or  out  upon 
the  frozen  sea.  Sometimes  I  carry  my  rifle,  hoping 
to  shoot  a  deer  or  perhaps  a  bear,  but  usually  I  go 
unarmed  and  unaccompanied,  except  by  a  sprightly 
Newfoundland  pup  which  rejoices  in  the  name  of  Gen- 
eral. This  little  beast  has  shared  with  me  my  cabin 
since  leaving  Boston,  and  has  always  insisted  upon 
the  choicest  place.  We  have  got  to  be  the  best  of 
friends.  He  knows  perfectly  well  when  the  hour 
comes  to  go  out  after  breakfast,  and  whines  impa- 
tiently at  the  door;  and  when  he  sees  me  take  my 
cap  and  mittens  from  their  peg  his  happiness  is  com- 
plete. And  the  little  fellow  makes  a  most  excellent 
companion.  He  does  not  bore  me  with  senseless  talk, 
but  tries  his  best  to  make  himself  agreeable.  If  in 
the  sober  mood,  he  walks  beside  me  with  stately  grav- 
ity ;  but  when  not  so  inclined  he  rushes  round  in  the 
wildest  manner,  —  rolling  himself  in  the  snow,  tossing 
the  white  flakes  to  the  wind,  and  now  and  then  tug- 
ging at  my  huge  fur  mittens  or  at  the  tail  of  my  fur 
coat.  Some  time  ago  he  fell  down  the  hatch  and 
broke  his  leg,  and  while  this  was  healing  I  missed  him 
greatly.  There  is  excellent  companionship  in  a  sen- 
sible dog. 

I  try  as  much  as  a  reasonable  regard  for  discipline 
will  allow  to  cultivate  the  social  relations  and  usages 
of  home.  True,  we  cannot  get  up  a  ball,  and  we  lack 
the  essential  elements  of  a  successful  tea-party ;  but 
we  are  not  wholly  deficient  in  those  customs  which, 
in  the  land  where  the  loved  ones  are,  take  away  so 
much  of  life's  roughnesses.  And  these  little  formal  ob- 
servances promote  happiness  and  peace.  There  is  no 
place  in  the  world  where  habits  of  unrestrained  famil- 


168  RETURN   OF   SONNTAG. 

iarity  work  so  much  mischief  as  in  the  crowded  cabin 
of  a  little  vessel,  nor  is  there  any  place  where  true  po- 
liteness is  so  great  a  blessing.  In  short,  I  try  to  make 
our  winter  abode  as  cheerful  as  possible  ;  and  we  shall 
need  all  the  brightness  we  can  get  within  these 
wooden  walls,  if  we  would  not  be  overwhelmed  with 
the  darkness  which  is  outside.  I  want  my  people 
always  to  feel  that,  whatever  hardship  and  expo- 
sure they  may  encounter,  they  can  here  find  cheer- 
ful shelter  from  the  storms,  and  repose  from  their 
fatigues. 

As  far  as  possible,  Sunday  is  observed  as  we  would 
observe  it  at  home.  At  ten  o'clock,  accompanied  by 
the  executive  officer,  I  hold  an  inspection  of  every 
part  of  the  vessel,  and  examine  minutely  into  the 
health,  habits,  and  comforts  of  the  whole  ship's  com- 
pany; and  immediately  afterward  they  all  assemble 
in  the  officers'  quarters,  where  I  read  to  them  a  por- 
tion of  the  morning  service ;  and  this  is  followed 
by  a  chapter  from  the  good  Book,  which  we  all  love 
alike,  wherever  we  are.  Sometimes  I  read  one  of 
Blair's  fine  sermons,  and  when  meal  time  conies  round 
we  find  it  in  our  heart  to  ask  a  continuance  of  God's 
provident  care ;  and  if  expressed  in  few  words,  it  is 
perhaps  not  the  less  felt, 

November  Gth. 

The  travelers  have  returned,  and,  as  I  feared,  they 
have  been  unsuccessful.  Sonntag  has  dined  with  me, 
and  he  has  just  finished  the  recital  of  the  adventures 
of  his  party. 

The  journey  was  a  very  difficult  one.  High  hum- 
mocks, deep  snow-drifts,  open  cracks,  severe  winds 
were  their  embarrassments ;  and  these  are  obstacles 
not  to  be  encountered  without  danger,  fatigue,  and 
frost-bites. 


A   BEAR    HUNT.  169 

They  had  much  trouble  in  getting  out  of  Hartsteno 
Bay,  the  water  coming  almost  in  to  the  land-ice. 
Once  outside,  however,  they  had  an  easy  run  up  the 
3oast  to  Fog  Inlet,  where  one  of  the  sledges  broke 
down,  and  they  came  upon  open  cracks  which  they 
could  not  pass.  After  repairing  the  sledge  as  well  as 
they  were  able,  they  turned  their  faces  homeward. 
When  a  little  way  above  Cape  Hatherton,  they  struck 
the  trail  of  a  couple  of  bears ;  and,  giving  chase,  the 
animals  were  overtaken  and  captured.  They  proved 
to  be  a  mother  and  her  cub. 

Sonntag  has  given  me  a  lively  description  of  the 
chase.  The  bears  were  started  from  the  margin  of  a 
ridge  of  humrnocked  ice  where  they  had  been  sleep- 
ing ;  and  they  made  at  once  for  the  open  cracks  out- 
side, distant  about  four  miles.  As  soon  as  the  dogs 
discovered  the  trail,  they  dashed  off  upon  it  into  the 
hummocks,  without  waiting  to  be  directed  by  their 
drivers,  and  utterly  regardless  of  the  safety  of  the 
sledges  or  of  the  persons  seated  upon  them.  The 
hummocks  were  very  high,  and  the  passages  between 
them  rough  and  tortuous.  Had  the  bears  kept  to 
them  they  might  have  baffled  pursuit ;  for  the  prog- 
ress of  the  sledges  was  much  interrupted,  and  the 
track  could  not  always  be  followed.  But  the  ridge 
was  not  above  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  the 
bears,  striking  directly  across  it,  evidently  preferred 
seeking  safety  beyond  a  crack,  over  which  they  could 
pass  by  swimming. 

The  first  plunge  into  the  hummocks  was  rather 
exciting.  Jensen's  team  led  the  way,  and  Hans,  fol- 
lowing after,  rushed  up  pell-mell  alongside.  Jensen's 
sledge  was  nearly  capsized,  and  Sonntag  rolled  off  in 
the  snow;  but  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  c^tch  the 


170  A  BEAR  HUNT. 

upstander,  and  with  its  aid  to  recover  his  seat.  The 
tangled  ice  greatly  retarded  the  impatient  dogs,  bring- 
ing them  several  times  almost  to  a  stand  :  but  their 

O  ' 

eagerness  and  their  drivers'  energy  finally  triumphed 
over  all  obstacles,  and  they  emerged  at  length,  after 
much  serious  embarrassment,  upon  a  broad  and  almost 
level  plain,  where  for  the  first  time  the  game  came  in 
view. 

The  delay  of  the  sledges  in  the  hummocks  had  al- 
lowed the  bears  to  get  the  start  of  fully  a  mile,  and  it 
appeared  probable  that  they  would  reach  the  water 
before  they  could  be  overtaken.  The  dogs  seemed  to 
be  conscious  of  this  danger,  as  well  as  the  hunters, 
and  they  laid  themselves  down  to  the  chase  with  all 
the  wild  instinct  of  their  nature.  Maddened  by  the 
detention  and  the  prospect  of  the  prey  escaping  them, 
the  blood-thirsty  pack  swept  across  the  plain  like  a 
whirlwind.  Jensen  and  Hans  encouraged  their  re- 
spective teams  by  all  the  arts  known  to  the  native 
hunter.  The  sledges  fairly  flew  over  the  hard  snow 
and  bounced  over  the  drifts  and  the  occasional  pieces 
of  ice  which  projected  above  the  otherwise  generally 
smooth  surface. 

It  was  a  wild  chase.  The  dogs  manifested  in  their 
speed  and  cry  all  the  impatience  of  a  pack  of  hounds 
in  view  of  the  fox,  with  ten  times  their  savageness. 
As  they  neared  the  game  they  seemed  to  Sonntag  like 
so  many  wolves  closing  upon  a  wounded  buffalo. 

In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  distance  be- 
tween pursuers  and  pursued  was  lessened  to  a  few 
hundred  yards,  and  then  they  were  not  far  from  the 
water,  —  which  to  the  one  was  safety,  to  the  other  de- 
feat. During  all  this  time  the  old  bear  was  kept  back 
by  the  young  one,  which  she  was  evidently  unwilling 


A  BEAR   HUNT.  171 

to  abandon.  The  poor  beast  was  in  agony.  Her  cries 
were  piteous  to  hear.  The  little  one  jogged  on  by 
her  side,  frightened  and  anxious ;  and,  although  it 
greatly  retarded  her  progress,  yet,  in  full  view  of  the 
danger,  she  would  not  abandon  it.  Fear  and  mater- 
nal affection  appeared  alternately  to  govern  her  reso- 
lution ;  but  still  she  held  firm  to  her  dependent  off- 
spring. One  moment  she  would  rush  forward  toward 
the  open  water,  as  if  intent  only  upon  her  own  safety, 
—  then  she  would  wheel  round  and  push  on  the  strug- 
gling cub  with  her  snout ;  and  then  again  she  would 
run  beside  it  as  if  coaxingly  encouraging  it  to  greater 
speed.  Meanwhile  her  enemies  were  rushing  on  and 
steadily  nearing  the  game.  The  dogs,  forgetting  their 
own  fatigue  in  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  encounter, 
pressed  harder  and  harder  into  their  collars.  The 
critical  moment  was  rapidly  approaching ;  and,  to  add 
to  the  embarrassments  of  the  bruin  family,  the  little 
bear  was  giving  out. 

At  length  the  sledges  were  within  fifty  yards  of  the 
struggling  animals.  Leaning  forward,  each  hunter 
now  seized  the  end  of  the  line  which  bound  the  traces 
together  in  one  fastening,  and  slipped  the  knot.  The 
sledges  stopped,  and  the  dogs,  freed  from  the  load 
which  they  had  been  dragging,  bounded  fiercely  for 
their  prey.  The  old  bear  heard  the  rush  of  her  com- 
ing enemies,  and,  halting,  squared  herself  to  meet  the 
assault,  while  the  little  one  ran  frightened  round  her, 
and  then  crouched  for  shelter  between  her  legs. 

The  old  and  experienced  leader,  Oosisoak,  led  the 
attack.  Queen  Arkadik  was  close  beside  him,  and  the 
other  twenty  wolfish  beasts  followed  in  order  of  their 
speed.  The  formidable  front  and  defiant  roar  of  the 
infuriated  monster  split  the  pack,  and  they  passed  to 


172  A   BEAR  HUNT. 

right  and  left.  Only  one  dog  faced  her,  and  he,  (a 
young  one,)  with  more  courage  than  discretion,  rushed 
at  her  throat.  In  a  moment  he  was  crushed  beneath 
her  huge  paw.  Oosisoak  came  in  upon  her  flank, 
and  Arkadik  tore  at  her  haunch,  and  the  other  dogs 
followed  this  prudent  example.  She  turned  upon  Oosi- 
soak, and  drove  him  from  his  hold ;  but  in  this  act  the 
cub  was  uncovered.  Quick  as  lightning  Karsuk  flew 
at  its  neck,  and  a  slender  yellow  mongrel,  that  we  call 
Schnapps,  followed  after ;  but  the  little  bear,  imitating 
the  example  of  its  mother,  prepared  to  do  battle. 
Karsuk  missed  his  grip,  and  Schnapps  got  tangled 
among  its  legs.  The  poor  dog  was  soon  doubled  up 
with  a  blow  in  the  side,  and  escaped  yowling  from 
the  melee.  Oosisoak  was  hard  pressed,  but  his  power- 
ful rival  Erebus  came  to  his  relief,  and  led  his  fol- 
lowers upon  the  opposite  flank,  which  concentrated 
onslaught  turned  the  bear  again  in  the  direction  of 
her  cub  in  time  to  save  it ;  for  it  was  now  being 
pulled  down  and  worried  by  Karsuk  and  his  pack. 
For  a  moment  disregarding  her  own  tormenters,  she 
threw  herself  upon  the  assailants  of  the  cub,  and  to 
avoid  her  blows  they  quickly  abandoned  their  hold 
and  enabled  her  once  more  to  draw  the  frightened 
though  plucky  little  creature  under  her.  She  had 
come  to  the  rescue  at  the  critical  moment,  for  the 
poor  thing  was  weakened  with  the  loss  of  blood,  and 
was  fairly  exhausted  with  the  fight. 

By  this  time  Jensen  and  Hans  had  drawn  their 
rifles  from  the  sledge,  and  hastened  on  to  the  conflict. 
The  dogs  were  so  thick  about  the  game  that  it  was 
some  time  before  they  could  shoot  with  safety.  They 
both,  however,  succeeded  at  last  in  getting  a  fine 
chance  at  the  old  bear,  and  fired.  One  ball  struck  her 


A  BEAR  HUNT.  173 

in  the  mouth,  and  the  other  one  in  the  shoulder ;  but 
neither  did  much  harm,  and  brought  only  a  louder 
roar  of  pain  and  anger. 

The  dogs,  beaten  off  from  their  attack  on  the  cub, 
now  concentrated  upon  the  mother,  and  the  battle  be- 
came more  fierce  than  ever.  The  snow  was  covered 
with  blood.  A  crimson  stream  poured  from  the  old 
bear's  mouth,  and  another  trickled  over  the  white  hair 
from  her  shoulder.  The  little  one  was  torn,  and  bleed- 
ing from  many  ugly  wounds.  One  dog  was  stretched 
out  crushed  and  almost  lifeless,  and  another  marked 
the  spot,  where  his  agony  was  expending  itself  in  pite- 
ous cries,  with  many  a  red  stain. 

Sonntag  now  came  up  with  a  fresh  weapon.  A  well- 
directed  volley  from  the  three  rifles  brought  her  down 
upon  her  side,  and  the  dogs  rushed  in  upon  her ;  but 
though  stunned  and  weakened  by  loss  of  blood,  yet 
she  was  not  mortally  hurt ;  and,  recovering  herself  in 
an  instant,  she  once  more  scattered  the  dogs  and  again 
sheltered  her  offspring.  But  the  fate  of  the  cub  was 
already  sealed.  Exhausted  by  the  fearful  gashes  and 
the  throttlings  which  it  had  received  from  Karsuk 
and  his  followers,  it  sank  expiring  at  its  mother's  feet. 
Seeing  it  fall,  she  forgot,  for  a  moment,  the  dogs,  in 
her  affection,  and,  stooping  down,  licked  its  face.  As 
if  unwilling  to  believe  it  dead,  she  tried  to  coax  it 
to  rise  and  make  a  still  further  fight  for  life.  But  at 
length  the  truth  seemed  to  dawn  upon  her,  and  now, 
apparently  conscious  that  the  cub  no  longer  needed 
her  protection,  she  turned  upon  her  tormenters  with 
redoubled  fury,  and  tried  to  escape.  Another  dog 
was  caught  in  the  attack,  and  was  flung  howling  to 
join  the  unlucky  Schnapps. 

For  the  first  time  she  now  appeared  to  realize  that 


171  THE   OPEN   WATER. 

she  was  beset  with  other  enemies  than  the  dogs. 
Hans's  rifle  had  missed  fire,  and  he  was  advancing 
with  a  native  spear  to  a  hand-to-hand  encounter.  See- 
ing him  approach,  the  infuriated  monster  cleared  away 
the  dogs  with  a  vigorous  dash,  and  charged  him.  He 
threw  his  weapon  and  wheeled  in  flight.  The  bear 
bounded  after  him,  and  in  an  instant  more  neither 
speed  nor  dogs  could  have  saved  him.  Fortunately, 
Sonntag  and  Jensen  had  by  this  time  reloaded  their 
rifles,  and,  with  well-directed  shots,  they  stopped  her 
mad  career.  A  ball,  penetrating  the  spine  at  the  base 
of  the  skull,  rolled  her  over  on  the  blood-stained  snow. 

The  skins  being  removed,  and  a  portion  of  the  flesh 
of  the  young  bear  prepared  for  carrying  home,  the 
dogs  were  allowed  to  gorge  themselves,  and  the  party 
pitched  their  tent  and  camped.  The  next  run  brought 
them  to  the  vessel. 

The  frost  has  nipped  Jensen  a  little  on  the  nose, 
and  Hans  is  touched  on  the  cheeks  ;  but  Sonntag  has 
come  off  without  a  scratch.  They  have  had  a  very 
hard  journey.  Every  thing  conspired  against  them  ; 
and  if  they  did  not  reach  their  destination,  they  are 
none  the  less  entitled  to  great  credit  for  their  perse- 
vering efforts,  continued  as  they  were  against  such 
odds. 

The  existence  of  this  open  water  greatly  puzzles 
me.  No  such  phenomenon  was  witnessed  in  1853-55 
from  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor.  Whether  it  extends 
across  the  Sound,  or  how  far  to  the  north  or  south,  I 
am  unable  to  judge.  It  is  probably  merely  local, — 
dependent  upon  the  currents  and  winds. 

November  7th. 
The  wind  is  blowing  fiercely  from  the   northeast, 


ACCIDENT  TO  MR.   KNORR.  176 

and  the  temperature  is  16°  below  zero.  The  effect  of 
the  gale  has  been  to  drive  the  ice  away  again  from 
the  outer  bay,  and  we  are  once  more  within  the  sound 
of  the  roaring  surf. 

November  8th. 

The  air  having  become  somewhat  more  quiet,  I 
walked  out  to-day  to  the  open  water.  Knorr  accom- 
panied me.  The  view  from  the  margin  of  the  ice  was 
dark  and  fearful.  Heavy  mist-clouds  hung  over  the 
sea.  Loose  ice-fields  were  drifting  through  the  black- 
ness, crashing  harshly  against  each  other,  and  sending 
the  spray  gleaming  into  the  moonlight.  The  icebergs 
stood  out  here  and  there  in  stern  defiance  of  the  jar- 
ring "  elements,  while  the  tumbling  seas  struck  the 
white  foam  far  up  their  lofty  sides ;  and  out  of  the 
gloom  came  a  wail,  as  of 

"  a  thousand  ghosts, 
Shrieking  at  once  on  the  hollow  wind." 

On  our  way  back,  Knorr,  who  has  much  skill  in  get- 
ting himself  into  trouble,  failed  in  a  spring  as  we 
were  making  our  way  over  some  loose  floes,  and  he 
plumped  bodily  into  the  sea.  The  accident  was  not 
less  dangerous  than  disagreeable ;  for  after  1  had 
dragged  him  out  of  the  water  there  were  almost  two 
miles  between  us  and  the  schooner.  Fortunately  he 
arrived  on  board  after  a  vigorous  run  with  nothing 
worse  than  a  frozen  foot,  which  did  not,  however,  re- 
sult in  any  inconvenience  greater  than  the  pain,  since 
my  former  experience  readily  suggested  the  proper 
remedies.  The  frozen  member  was  first  placed  in  ice- 
cold  water,  the  temperature  of  which  was  slowly  in- 
creased from  hour  to  hour  until  the  flesh  was  com- 
pletely thawed  out.  There  was  no  resulting  inflam 
mation,  and  the  foot  came  from  the  bath  without 
even  a  blister. 


176  A  THAW. 

November  10th. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  regular  thaw,  —  a  thaw 
in  November  under  the  Pole  Star,  —  truly  a  strange 
event  to  chronicle.  The  temperature  has  gone  up  to 
11°  above  zero. 

The  cold  of  the  last  month  has  frescoed  the  house 
on  deck  with  delicate  frost,  —  the  condensed  moisture 
that  escapes  from  below.  In  many  places  this  frost  is 
two  inches  thick,  and  now  it  is  melting.  The  water 
drops  upon  the  deck,  and  every  thing  thereon  is  soaked. 
We  have  reduced  the  fires  and  opened  the  windows. 

November  llth. 

The  temperature  continues  to  rise,  and  the  thaw 
goes  on.  A  regular  shower  falls  upon  the  deck. 
There  is  a  huge  puddle  amidships,  and  the  drip,  drip, 
drip  is  any  thing  but  agreeable. 

My  journal  is  looking  up,  —  two  novelties  in  one 
day.  First  a  thaw,  and  then  a  newspaper.  The  free 
press  follows  the  flag  all  over  the  world,  and  the  North 
Pole  rejoices  in  "  The  Port  Foulke  Weekly  News." 

During  the  past  week  everybody  has  been  much  in- 
terested in  a  newspaper  enterprise,  bearing  the  above 
title.  Thinking  to  create  a  diversion  that  would  con- 
found our  enemy,  the  darkness,  I  proposed  some  time 
ago  to  the  officers  that  we  should  publish  a  weekly 
paper,  offering  at  the  same  time  my  assistance.  The 
proposition  was  hailed  with  pleasure,  and  my  fullest 
anticipations  are  more  than  realized.  Mr.  Dodge  and 
Mr.  Knorr  undertook  to  act  as  editors,  at  least  for  the 
first  week,  and  they  have  busied  themselves  gathering 
from  cabin  and  forecastle  whatever  was  likely  to  prove 
attractive,  and  right  good  success  have  they  met  with. 
The  first  number  appeared  to-day,  and  it  contains 


"THE    PORT   FOULKE   WEEKLY  NEWS."  177 

some  things  that  are  "  rich  and  rare,"  and  very  clever, 
and  many  of  the  best  came  from  the  forward  part  of 
the  ship. 

Its  appearance  makes  quite  an  event,  and,  as  a 
hygienic  agent,  its  importance  cannot  be  too  highly 
estimated.  The  project  set  everybody  on  tip-toe  of 
expectation,  and  for  several  days  past  very  little  else 
has  been  talked  about  but  "the  paper."  All  the  de- 
tails of  its  getting-up  have  been  conducted  with  a 
most  farcical  adherence  to  the  customs  prevailing  at 
home.  There  is  a  regular  corps  of  editors  and  report- 
ers, an  office  for  "  general  news,"  an  "  editorial  depart- 
ment," and  a  "  telegraph  station,"  where  information 
is  supposed  to  be  received  from  all  quarters  of  the 
world,  and  the  relations  existing  between  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  are  duly  reported  by  "  reliable  corre- 
spondents," and  pictorial  representations  of  extraordi- 
nary occurrences  are  also  received*  from  "  our  artist 
on  the  spot." 

Of  course,  much  depended  upon  the  eclat  with  which 
it  burst  into  being  ;  and,  conscious  of  this  important 
fact,  the  editors  spared  no  pains  to  heighten  public 
curiosity,  by  the  issuing  of  "  hand-bills  "  and  "  posters," 
and  all  other  means  known  among  the  caterers  for 
the  popular  intellectual  palate.  McCormick  lent  his 
assistance,  and  directed  the  preparation  of  a  somewhat 
better  dinner  than  usual ;  so  that,  no  matter  what 
might  be  the  merits  of  this  eagerly  expected  prod- 
igy, it  was  sure  of  a  hearty  reception.  Mr.  Knorr 
had  charged  himself  with  the  mechanical  execution, 
and  was  known  to  have  the  infant  periodical  in  his 
keeping ;  and  accordingly,  after  the  cloth  was  re- 
moved, loud  calls  were  made  for  its  production. 
While  he  was  hauling  it  out  from  under  his  pillow, 


12 


178          "THE  PORT  FOULKE   WEEKLY  NEWS." 

(where  it  had  been  carefully  stowed  out  of  sight  until 
the  auspicious  moment  should  arrive,)  demands  were 
made  upon  him  to  read  it  aloud.  This  he  was  about 
to  do  when  some  one  claimed  that  so  important  an 
event  should  not  pass  off  so  informally.  "Agreeably 
to  national  usage,  we  should  call  a  meeting,  organize 
it  by  the  appointment  of  the  proper  officers,  and  name 
an  orator  for  the  occasion.  Then,  and  not  until  then, 
can  it  be  said  that  we  have  properly  inaugurated  the 
important  event  which  has  transpired.  The  public  of 
Port  Foulke  will  not  rest  content  with  any  less  con- 
spicuous mark  of  glorification  over  so  momentous  an 
occurrence  as  the  establishment  of  a  free  press  on  this 
remote  frontier  of  civilization." 

To  this  proposal  no  objection  was  made,  —  indeed,  it 
was  received  with  much  favor ;  and  the  meeting  was 
accordingly  organized  by  unanimously  calling  Mr. 
Sonntag  to  the  "  chair."  After  naming  the  requisite 
number  of  vice-presidents  and  secretaries,  Mr.  Knorr 
was  selected  orator  by  acclamation.  And  now  there 
commenced  a  violent  clapping  of  hands  and  a  rattling 
of  tin  cups,  mingled  with  cries  of  u  order  "  and  "  hear, 
hear ! "  in  the  midst  of  which  the  orator  mounted  the 
locker  and  addressed  his  auditors  as  follows  :  — 

"  Fellow-citizens :  —  Called  by  the  unanimous  voice 
of  this  unenlightened  community  to  inaugurate  the 
new  era  which  has  dawned  upon  a  benighted  region, 
it  is  my  happy  privilege  to  announce  that  we  have,  at 
the  cost  of  much  time,  labor,  and  means,  supplied  a  want 
which  has  too  long  been  felt  by  the  people  of  Port 
Foulke.  We  are,  fellow-citizens,  no  longer  without 
that  inalienable  birthright  of  every  American  citizen, 
—  a  Free  Press  and  an  Exponent  of  Public  Opinion. 

"  Overcome  with  the  gravity  of  my  situation,  I  find 


"THE  PORT  FOULKE   WEEKLY  NEWS."  179 

myself  unable  to  make  you  a  speech  befitting  the  so- 
lemnity and  importance  of  the  occasion.  It  is  proper, 
however,  that  I  should  state,  in  behalf  of  myself  and 
my  Bohemian  brother,  that,  in  observance  of  a  time- 
honored  custom,  we  will  keep  our  opinions  for  our- 
selves and  our  arguments  for  the  public.  The  inhab- 
itants of  Port  Foulke  desire  the  speedy  return  of  the 
Sun.  We  will  advocate  and  urge  it.  They  wish  for 
Light.  We  will  address  ourselves  to  the  Celestial  Orbs, 
and  point  out  the  opportunities  for  reciprocity.  They 
are  in  search  of  happiness.  We  will,  in  pursuance  of 
that  same  time-honored  custom,  (which  I  may  say  has 
made  the  press  a  power,  sir,  in  this  great  and  glorious 
nineteenth  century) — we  will,  I  say,  at  all  times 
freely  counsel  them  to  the  observance  of  both  public 
and  private  virtue. 

"  Fellow-citizens  :  —  This  is  a  memorable  epoch  in 
the  history  of  Port  Foulke.  We  are  informed  that  its 
aboriginal  name  is  Annyeiqueipablaitah,  which  means, 
after  it  is  pronounced,  'The  Place  of  the  Howling 
Winds.'  On  this  public  occasion  it  is  proper  that  we 
should  direct  our  thoughts  to  the  future,  especially  to 
our  sublime  '  mission/  This  *  Place  of  the  Howling 
Winds/  you  will  observe,  fellow-citizens,  is  on  the  re- 
motest confines  of  our  wide-spread  country.  —  a  coun- 
try, fellow-citizens,  whose  vast  sides  are  bathed  by  the 
illimitable  ocean,  and  which  stretches  from  the  rising 
of  the  sun  to  the  setting  thereof,  and  from  the  Aurora 
Borealis  to  the  Southern  Cross.  But  why  do  I  say 
the  Aurora  Borealis,  fellow-citizens?  Have  we  not 
left  that  vague  border  of  the  national  domain  far  be- 
hind us  ?  Yes.  fellow-citizens !  and  it  now  devolves 
upon  us  to  bring  the  vexed  question  of  national  bound- 
aries, which  has  been  opened  by  our  enterprise,  to  a 


180  "  THE   PORT  FOULKE   WEEKLY   XEWS." 

point  —  to  a  point,  sir !  We  must  carry  it  to  the  very 
Pole  itself!  —  and  there,  sir,  we  will  nail  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  and  our  flag-staff  will  become  the  spindle  of 
the  world,  and  the  Universal  Yankee  Nation  will  go 
whirling  round  it  like  a  top. 

"  Fellow-citizens  and  friends  :  —  In  conclusion  allow 
me  to  propose  a  sentiment  befitting  the  occasion,  —  A 
Free  Press  and  the  Universal  Yankee  Nation  :  May 
the  former  continue  in  times  to  come,  as  in  times  gone 
by,  the  handmaiden  of  Liberty  and  the  emblem  of 
Progress  ;  and  may  the  latter  absorb  all  Creation  and 
become  the  grand  Celestial  Whirligig." 

The  youthful  orator  sat  down  amidst  what  the  press 
would  very  properly  designate  as  "  tumultuous  ap- 
plause." He  had  evidently  made  a  favorable  impres- 
sion as  well  in  behalf  of  himself  as  of  his  paper,  and 
we  were  all  the  more  eager  than  ever  for  the  reading. 
After  the  rattling  of  the  tin  cups  had  subsided,  the 
reading  began,  and  it  was  not  interrupted  except  by 
those  marks  of  approbation  in  which  men  are  always 
apt  to  indulge  when  possessed  of  a  satisfactory  dinner, 
and  are  listening  afterward  to  good  stories.  The  only 
regret  expressed  was  that  it  should  come  so  quickly 
to  an  end.  The  expressions  of  approval  were  univer- 
sal, a  vote  of  thanks  was  bestowed  upon  the  editors, 
the  orator  was  toasted,  and  the  occasion  wound  up  in 
a  very  lively  manner.  Having  but  one  copy  "of  the 
paper,  this  was  handed  over  to  the  sailors  as  soon  as 
Knorr  had  finished  reading  it  in  the  cabin,  and  the 
marks  of  approbation  were  equally  reassuring  from 
that  quarter.  It  contains  sixteen  pages  of  closely 
written  matter,  a  somewhat  ambitious  picture  of  our 
winter  harbor,  a  portrait  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  and  a 
spirited  likeness  of  the  General,  with  his  wounded  paw 


"THE    PORT   FOULKE   WEEKLY   NEWS."          181 

in  a  sling.  There  is  a  fair  sprinkling  of  "  enigmas," 
"original  jokes,"  "items  of  domestic  and  foreign  in- 
telligence," "  personals,"  "  advertisements,"  &c.,  &c., 
among  a  larger  allowance  of  more  pretentious  effu- 
sions. Among  these  latter  there  is  an  illustrated 
prospectus  by  the  senior  editor,  a  poem  by  the  stew- 
ard, and  a  song  which  is  addressed  to  the  General. 
This  last  the  men  are  now  singing,  and  they  seem  to 
take  special  delight  in  the  chorus,  which  runs  thus:  — 

"  Hang  up  the  harness  and  the  whip, 
Put  up  the  sledge  on  the  ship  ; 
There  's  no  more  work  for  poor  Gen-e-ral, 
For  he  's  going  for  his  wind  for  to  slip." 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  prophecy  therein  con- 
tained is  likely  to  prove  true,  for  the  General  is  very 
sick.  Poor  fellow!  he  hears  every  word  of  this  un- 
pitying  merriment  over  his  misfortunes,  and,  could  he 
speak,  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  would  sigh  with  Gray's 

cat, — 

"  Alas !  — 
A  favorite  has  no  friends  !  " 

However,  there  is  a  verse  coming,  to  which  he  is  lis- 
tening attentively,  and  the  very  tears  mount  to  his 
eyes  with  this  unexpected  mark  of  sympathy.  For 
his  sake  I  give  it  a  place  here :  — 

"  Sad  times  there  will  be  when  the  General  slips  his  wind, 

And  is  gathered  to  his  fathers  down  below ; 
And  is  gone  far  away  with  his  broken  leg  and  all, 
And  is  buried  underneath  the  cold  snow." 

November  12th. 

The  temperature  has  gone  down  within  4°  of  zero, 
but  there  is  still  much  slush  and  dampness.  The  snow 
lying  next  the  ice  is  filled  with  water,  a  circumstance 
which  it  is  difficult  to  explain,  since  the  temperature 


182  THE  TIDE-REGISTER. 

has  not,  at  any  time,  reached  the  freezing  point,  and 
the  ice  on  which  the  snow  rests  is  over  three  feet 
thick.  There  would  appear  to  be  a  sort  of  an  osmotic 
action  taking  place.  Snow  is  now  beginning  to  fall, 
and,  as  usual,  it  is  very  light  and  beautifully  and  reg- 
ularly crystalized.  The  depth  of  snow  which  has 
fallen  up  to  this  time  is  15£  inches. 

November  13th. 

Worse  and  worse.  The  temperature  has  risen  again, 
and  the  roof  over  the  upper  deck  gives  us  once  more 
a  worse  than  tropic  shower.  The  snow  next  the  ice 
grows  more  slushy,  and  this  I  am  more  than  ever  puz- 
zled to  understand,  since  I  have  found  to  day  that  the 
ice,  two  feet  below  the  surface,  has  a  temperature  of 
20° ;  at  the  surface  it  is  19°,  and  the  snow  in  contact 
with  it  is  18°.  The  water  is  29°. 

The  darkness  is  not  yet  quite  absolute.  With  some 
difficulty  I  can  still  see  to  read  ordinary  print  at  noon. 

November  14th. 

The  wind  has  been  blowing  for  nearly  twenty-four 
hours  from  the  northeast,  and  yet  the  temperature 
holds  on  as  before.  At  10  o'clock  this  evening  it  was 
4|°.  I  have  done  with  speculation.  A  warm  wind 
from  the  mer  de  glace,  and  this  boundless  reservoir  of 
Greenland  frost,  makes  mischief  with  my  theories,  as 
facts  have  heretofore  done  with  the  theories  of  wiser 
men.  As  long  as  the  wind  came  from  the  sea  I  could 
find  some  excuse  for  the  unseasonable  warmth. 

I  have  rigged  a  new  tide-register  to-day,  with  the 
aid  of  McCormick,  my  man  of  all  ingenious  work.  If 
it  prove  as  effective  as  it  is  simple,  I  shall  have  a  good 
registry  of  the  Port  Foulke  tides.  It  is  but  a  light 


THE  FIRE-HOLE.  183 

rope,  to  one  end  of  which  is  attached  a  heavy  stone 
that  rests  firmly  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  The  rope 
comes  up  through  the  fire-hole,  and  passes  over  a  pul- 
ley and  down  again  into  the  water,  having  at  this  last 
end  a  ten-pound  leaden  weight.  The  pulley  is  at- 
tached to  an  oar  which  is  supported  upon  two  pillars 
made  with  blocks  of  ice.  Two  feet  below  the  oar,  and 
in  close  contact  with  the  rope,  there  is  an  iron  rod, 
and,  the  rope  being  divided  into  feet  and  tenths  of  a 
foot  by  little  strings  having  "  knots,"  the  stage  of  the 
tide  is  read  with  the  aid  of  a  bull's-eye  lantern,  as  the 
rod  passes  the  strings.  The  only  drawback  is  the 
difficulty  in  keeping  the  rope  from  "  fouling "  with 
the  ice,  as  it  will  do  if  the  fire-hole  is  not  cleared  at 
least  four  times  an  hour. 

The  fire-hole  needs  no  description  further  than  the 
mere  mention  of  its  name.  In  the  event  of  fire  oc- 
curring in  the  schooner,  this  hole  is  our  only  reliance 
for  water ;  and  it  is  therefore  carefully  looked  after. 
Thus  far  the  watch  has  broken  it  out  hourly. 

November  15th. 

The  wind  has  packed  the  snow  again,  and,  the  tem- 
perature having  crawled  down  to  zero,  the  dampness 
has  almost  disappeared. 

I  have  presented  Hans  with  a  new  suit  of  clothes 
and  a  pair  of  my  reddest  flannel  shirts,  thinking  by 
making  him  better  off  than  Peter  to  quiet  his  jeal- 
ousy. If  I  have  not  succeeded  in  this,  I  have  at  least 
tickled  his  vanity,  for  he  is  a  natural-born  dandy,  and 
no  person  on  board  is  so  fond  of  getting  himself  up 
as  this  same  savage  hunter.  At  Sunday  inspection 
no  one  more  delights  to  appear  in  gorgeous  array. 
With  the  other  Esquimaux  he  does  not  deign  to  asso- 


184         STUDIES  AND  OCCUPATIONS. 

ciate  on  terms  of  equality.  To  his  finer  clothes  he 
doubtless  attributes  much  of  his  personal  importance ; 
—  but  such  things  are  not  confined  to  Esquimaux. 

November  16th. 

McCormick  has  established  a  school  of  navigation, 
and  has  three  good  pupils  in  Barnum,  Charley,  and 
McDonald.  There  is  indeed  quite  a  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge in  that  quarter  known  as  "  Mariner's  Hall,"  and 
an  excellent  library,  which  we  owe  to  the  kindness  of 
our  Boston  friends,  is  well  used.  In  the  cabin  there 
is  a  quiet  settlement  into  literary  ease.  Dodge  has 
already  consumed  several  boxes  of  "  LittelFs  Living 
Age  "  and  the  "  Westminster  Review."  Knorr  studies 
Danish,  Jensen  English,  and  Sonntag  is  wading  through 
Esquimau,  and,  with  his  long,  mathematical  head,  is 
conjuring  up  some  incomprehensible  compound  of  dif- 
ferential quantities.  As  for  myself,  there  is  no  end  to 
my  occupations.  The  routine  of  our  life  causes  me 
much  concern  and  consumes  much  of  my  time.  Per- 
haps I  give  myself  needless  anxiety  about  the  affairs 
of  my  household,  and  charge  myself  uselessly  with 
"  that  care  which  is  the  enemy  of  life,"  and  which 
long  ago  disturbed  the  earthly  career  of  the  good  old 
Mother  Hubbard  ;  but  then  I  find  in  it  my  chief  sat- 
isfaction, and  the  leisure  hours  are  filled  up  pleasantly 
enough  with  a  book  or  a  walk  or  this  journal.  On 
me  the  days  of  darkness  have  not  yet  begun  to  hang 
heavily,  but  I  can  see  weariness  in  the  future. 

November  17th. 

The  temperature  has  fallen  to  10°  below  zero,  for 
which  we  are  duly  thankful.  Again  the  air  sparkles 
with  cold,  and  a  dead  calm  has  let  the  frost  cover  the 


HUNTING  FOXES.  185 

whole  outer  bay  with  ice,  and  the  crystal  plain  ex- 
tends as  far  as  the  eye  will  carry  over  the  Sound. 

The  tide-register  works  quite  well,  but  the  young- 
sters complain  bitterly  of  the  trouble  in  keeping  the 
fire-hole  clear  of  ice,  and  of  reading  the  ice-coated 
knots  in  the  darkness.  Starr  slipped  partly  into  the 
hole  to-day,  and  nearly  ruined  the  instrument  by 
grasping  it  for  support.  The  readings  are  generally 
quite  accurate,  but  to  guard  against  serious  error  I 
have  my  own  way  of  marking  a  check  upon  the  ice- 
foot. We  have  to-day  9  feet  7  inches  between  ebb 
and  flood. 

The  poor  foxes  have  become  the  innocent  victims 
of  a  new  excitement.  They  are  very  numerous,  and 
the  officers  are  after  them  with  dead-falls,  traps,  and 
guns.  Their  skins  are  very  fine  and  pretty,  and  make 
warm  coats,  although  I  do  not  perceive  that  they 
are  used  for  this  purpose ;  but  they  go  instead  into 
the  very  safest  corners  of  their  lockers.  Doubtless 
"  there  's  a  lady  in  the  case." 

November  18th. 

A  calm,  cold,  clear,  quiet  day,  marked  by  no  unu- 
sual event  other  than  the  appearance  of  the  second 
number  of  "The  News."  Radcliffe  brought  it  out, 
and  there  was  another  bright  evening  in  this  dark- 
ness-beleaguered schooner. 

November  19th. 

Our  quiet  life  has  been  disturbed  by  a  mysterious 
event.  I  have  often  mentioned  in  these  pages  the 
ludicrous  rivalry  which  grew  up  between  the  two 
Esquimaux,  Hans  and  Peter.  Both  have  been  useful, 
but  their  motives  have  been  very  different.  One  has 
shown,  like  Mr.  Wemmick,  a  laudable  desire  to  get 
hold  of  "  portable  property  "  by  fair  means  ;  the  other 


186  A  RUNAWAY. 

has  been  influenced  by  an  envious  disposition  quite  in- 
dependent of  the  value  attached  to  his  gains.  He  is 
a  type  of  a  branch  of  the  human  family  who  cannot 
view  with  calmness  the  prosperity  of  others.  Whether 
this  feeling  in  Hans  stopped  with  the  emotion,  or 
whether  it  has  expended  itself  in  crime,  remains  to 
be  seen. 

I  was  quietly  reading  on  my  lounge  this  morning 
at  two  o'clock,  when  the  profound  stillness  was  broken 
by  footsteps  in  the  companion-way.  A  moment  after- 
ward the  steward  entered  without  the  ceremony  of 
knocking,  and  stood  before  me  with  an  atmosphere  of 
alarm  about  him  which  seemed  to  forebode  evil 
While  he  was  hesitating  for  speech,  I  inquired  of  him 
what  on  earth  had  brought  him  upon  me  at  this  hour. 
Was  the  ship  on  fire  ?  Without  heeding  my  question, 
he  exclaimed, — 

"  Peter 's  gone,  sir ! " 

"Gone!    Whereto?" 

"  Gone !     Run  away,  sir  1 " 

"  Is  that  all  ? "  and  I  returned  to  my  book,  and 
bade  him  go  back  to  his  bed. 

"  It 's  so,  sir !     He  has  run  away,  sir ! " 

And  sure  enough  it  was  so.  The  earnestness  of  the 
steward's  manner  convinced  me  at  length  that  some- 
thing was  wrong,  and  I  immediately  caused  the  ship 
to  be  searched.  But  Peter  was  nowhere  to  be  found. 
His  hammock  had  not  been  disturbed  since  it  had 
been  taken  down  yesterday  morning,  and  he  was  evi- 
dently not  in  the  vessel. 

All  hands  were  called,  and,  while  I  interrogated  the 
sailors,  Jensen  obtained  what  information  he  could 
from  the  Esquimaux.  Peter  had  been  on  board  all 
the  evening,  had  messed  with  the  men,  had  smoked 


SEARCH  FOR  THE  FUGITIVE.  187 

his  pipe  and  drank  his  coffee  as  usual,  and  he  appeared 
to  be  very  happy  and  well  contented.  I  was  greatly 
puzzled  to  account  for  his  absence.  There  being  no 
moon,  it  seemed  impossible  that  he  should  have  vol- 
untarily gone  far  from  the  vessel,  and  it  appeared 
very  unlikely  that  he  would  remain  long  absent  un- 
less some  accident  had  overtaken  him.  But  the  vague 
and  unsatisfactory  answers  given  by  Hans  were  calcu- 
lated to  arouse,  suspicion.  Hans  at  last  hinted  that 
Peter  was  afraid  of  the  men ;  but  this  was  all  that  I 
could  get  out  of  him.  The  men  declare  that  he  has 
always  been  a  great  pet  with/ them,  and  I  cannot  learn 
that  in  any  instance  he  has.  been  unkindly  treated. 

While  all  this  cross-questioning  was  going  on,  the 
lamps  were  being  prepared  for  a  search.  The  people 
were  divided  into  seven  squads,  and  their  lights  were 
soon  seen  flickering  over  the  harbor.  Two  hours 
elapsed,  and  I  had  begun  to  doubt  if  we  should  make 
any  discovery,  when  a  signal  came  from  McCormick, 
who  had  found  fresh  tracks  on  the  south  side  of  the 
harbor,  and,  at  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
schooner,  he  had  followed  them  across  the  broken 
land-ice,  and  thence  up  the  steep  hill.  At  the  foot  of 
the  hill  a  small  bag,  containing  a  few  articles  of  cloth- 
ing, was  picked  up,  and  these  were  quickly  recognized 
as  Peter's  property.  There  was  no  longer  any  doubt 
as  to  the  fact  that  the  steward  was  right.  Peter  had 
surely  run  away.  But  what  could  possibly  be  the 
motive  ?  Where  had  he  run  to  ?  and  what  had  he 
run  for? 

There  being  clearly  no  object  in  following  the  trail, 
we  returned  on  board,  very  much  bewildered.  Nobody 
knew  any  thing  about  it.  Marcus  and  Jacob  declare 
absolute  ignorance,  and  Hans  possesses  no  other  infor- 


188  A  FRUITLESS  SEARCH. 

mation  than  what  he  has  already  communicated.  But 
nevertheless,  I  cannot  disabuse  my  mind  of  the  im- 
pression that  Hans  is  really  at  the  bottom  of  this  bad 
business  ;  and  I  have  dismissed  him  from  my  cabin 
with  the  assurance  that  if  I  find  him  guilty  of  treach- 
ery toward  Peter  I  will  hang  him  to  the  yard-arm  with- 
out hesitation.  This  he  is  quite  competent  to  under- 
stand, and  he  declares  that  he  will  follow  up  Peter's 
tracks  and  bring  the  unhappy  boy  on  board.  Here, 
for  the  present,  this  painful  episode  in  our  quiet  life 
must  rest. 

November  20th. 

Hans,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  sailors,  has  been 
out  for  several  hours  trying  to  follow  Peter's  trail ; 
but  a  strong  wind  had  drifted  the  snow,  and  not  a  ves- 
tige of  his  footsteps  remained.  Hans  came  back  evi- 
dently a  little  doubtful  as  to  his  fate ;  but  he  looked 
the  picture  of  innocence  itself,  and  did  not  appear  to 
have  upon  his  mind  any  other  thought  than  that  of 
sorrow  for  Peter's  unhappy  condition. 

Where  has  the  fugitive  gone  ?  Is  he  trying  to 
reach  the  Whale  Sound  Esquimaux  ?  From  Hans's 
account,  there  are  probably  none  nearer  than  North- 
umberland Island,  a  hundred  miles  away  ;  and  perhaps 
the  nearest  may  be  still  fifty  miles  further,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Sound.  Possibly  some  hunters  may  tem- 
porarily reside  on  the  north  side,  in  which  case  only  is 
there  any  chance  of  safety  to  the  fugitive,  should  his 
purpose  lie  in  that  direction.  It  is  not  at  all  improb- 
able that  Hans  has  told  him  positively  that  Esquimaux 
are  living  at  Sorfalik,  which  is  not  above  thirty  miles 
distant,  and  which  place  might  be  readily  reached  by 
him,  but.  without  dogs,  the  journey  further  south  is 
impracticable.  It  may  be,  however,  that  Hans  is  en- 


PETER  STILL  ABSENT.  189 

tirely  innocent  of  all  concern  in  this  mysterious  busi- 
ness, and  that  it  is,  as  Mr.  Sonntag  thinks,  merely  an 
Esquimau  whim,  and  that  Peter,  provoked  at  some 
slight  put  upon  him  by  one  of  the  crew,  has  gone  off 
to  cool  his  anger  at  Etah  or  in  a  snow  hut.  That 
Hans  is  guilty  seems  to  be  the  general  belief;  and  it 
is  very  easy  to  suppose  that  he  has  given  Peter  to  un- 
derstand that  the  friendly  acts  of  the  sailors  only  cov- 
ered a  hostile  purpose  ;  that  he  knew  this  because  he 
understood  English  and  overheard  their  conversation, 
and  has  thus  induced  the  poor  fellow  to  fly  in  precipi- 
tate haste  from  an  imaginary  danger.  And  this  is  the 
less  difficult  to  understand,  that  it  would  be  quite  in 
keeping  with  Esquimau  usage.  With  them,  nothing  is 
more  likely  to  excite  suspicion  of  treachery  than  unu- 
sual friendliness,  and  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that 
Hans  has  first  coined  a  lie,  and  then,  by  judiciously  . 
fanning  the  kindling  flame  with  other  lies  and  myste- 
rious hints,  he  has  been  at  last  able  to  effect  a  grand 
coup,  and  drive  the  poor  inoffensive  lad  into  the  dark- 
ness to  seek  safety  at  Sorfalik.  Maddened  with  the 
threatening  danger,  he  is  ready  for  any  thing,  —  seizes 
his  bag  and  flies.  Seeing  our  lights  on  the  harbor, 
he  has  dropped  his  bag  and  hastened  his  retreating 
steps.  Under  this  head  I  can  now  understand  the 
meaning  of  what  Jensen  told  me  some  days  ago,  that 
"  they  have  made  friends." 

November  23d. 

Five  days  have  elapsed,  and  still  Peter  does  not  re- 
turn. I  have  sent  to  the  hut  at  Etah,  but  he  has  not 
been  there,  nor  can  any  traces  of  him  be  discovered 
in  the  quarters  of  our  cached  deer  meat.  Meanwhile 
much  snow  has  fallen,  and  a  fierce  gale,  in  which  no 
one  could  live  long  without  shelter,  has  been  raging. 


190  DRIFTING  SNOW. 

I  have  had  my  usual  walk,  notwithstanding  the 
storm.  My  furs  are  now  thrown  off,  and  faithful 
old  Carl  is  beating  the  snow  out  of  them.  It  was 
pounded  in  by  the  force  of  the  wind  to  the  very  skin, 
and  I  was  one  mass  of  whiteness.  Beard  and  face 
were  covered,  as  well  as  my  clothing,  and  I  was  not 
in  appearance  unlike  what  I  used  to  imagine  Kriss 
Kringle  might  be  when.  "  in  the  days  of  other  years," 
I  fancied  him  to  be  making  his  annual  tour  of  the 
house-tops. 

And  my  walk  has  been  one  of  some  hardship.  I 
ventured  too  far  out  on  the  sea,  and,  miscalculating 
the  force  of  the  wind,  I  found,  when  I  had  to  face  it 
on  my  return,  that  I  had  before  me  a  somewhat  seri- 
ous task.  In  the  distance  I  could  faintly  distinguish 
the  ship's  light,  and  as  blast  after  blast  lashed  my  face 
with  snow,  seemingly  in  malicious  spite,  and  each  time 
with  greater  fury,  I  must  confess  that  I  more  than 
once  wished  myself  well  out  of  the  scrape. 

In  truth,  I  was  in  some  danger.  The  frost  touched 
my  cheeks,  and,  indeed,  I  should  have  had  no  face  left 
had  I  not  repeatedly  turned  my  back  to  the  wind  and 
revived  the  frosted  flesh  with  my  unmittened  hand. 

But  now  that  I  have  got  snugly  stowed  away  in 
warmth,  I  am  far  from  sorry  for  the  adventure.  My 
motive  in  going  out  was  to  get  a  full  view  of  the 
storm.  The  snow  which  has  lately  fallen  is  very 
deep,  and  the  wind,  picking  it  up  from  hill-side  and 
valley,  seemed  to  fill  the  whole  atmosphere  with  a  vol- 
ume of  flying  whiteness.  It  streamed  over  the  moun- 
tains, and  gleamed  like  witches'  hair  along  their  sum- 
mits. Great  clouds  rushed  frantically  down  the  slopes, 
and  spun  over  the  cliffs  in  graceful  forms  of  fantastic 
lightness,  and  thence  whirled  out  over  the  frozen  sea, 


COURAGE.  191 

glimmering  in  the  moonbeams.  The  fierce  wind-gusta 
brought  a  vast  sheet  of  it  from  the  terraces,  which, 
after  bounding  over  the  schooner  and  rattling  through 
the  rigging,  flew  out  over  the  icy  plain,  wound  coldly 
around  the  icebergs  which  studded  its  surface,  and, 
dancing  and  skipping  past  me  like  cloud-born  phan- 
toms of  the  night,  flew  out  into  the  distant  black- 
ness, mingling  unearthly  voices  with  the  roar  of 
booming  waves. 

And  as  I  think  of  this  wild,  wild  scene,  my  thoughts 
are  in  the  midst  of  it  with  my  servant  Peter.  The 
stiffened  ropes  which  pound  against  the  masts,  the 
wind  shrieking  through  the  shrouds,  the  crashing  of 
the  snows  against  the  schooner's  sides,  are  sounds  of 
terror  echoing  through  the  night ;  and  when  I  think 
that  this  unhappy  boy  is  a  prey  to  the  piercing  gale, 
I  find  myself  inquiring  continually,  What  could  pos- 
sibly have  been  the  motive  which  led  him  thus  to 
expose  himself  to  its  fury  ? 

After  all,  what  is  that  which  we  call  courage  ?  This 
poor  savage,  who  would  not  hesitate  to  attack  single- 
handed  the  fierce  polar  bear,  who  has  now  voluntarily 
faced  a  danger  than  which  none  could  be  more  dread- 
ful, fleeing  out  into  the  darkness,  over  the  mountains 
and  glaciers,  and  through  snow-drifts  and  storms,  pur- 
sued by  fear,  lacks  the  resolution  to  face  an  imaginary 
harm  from  his  fellow-men.  It  seems,  indeed,  to  be  a 
peculiarity  of  uninstructed  minds  to  dread  man's  au- 
ger and  man's  treachery  more  than  all  other  evils,— 
whether  of  wild  beast  or  storm  or  pestilence. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MIDWINTER.  —  THE  NIGHT  OF  MONTHS.  —  BRILLIANCY  OF  THE  MOONLIGHT.— 
MILD  TEMPERATURES. —REMARKABLE  WEATHER. —  A  SHOWER. —  DEPTH  OF 
SNOW.  — SNOW  CRYSTALS.  — AN  EPIDEMIC  AMONG  THE  DOGS.  —  SYMPTOMS 
OF  THE  DISORDER  —GREAT  MORTALITY. —  ONLY  ONE  TEAM  LEFT.  — NEW 
PLANS.  —  SCHEMES  FOR  REACHING  THE  ESQUIMAUX  IN  WHALE  SOUND. 

THE  reader  who  has  followed  my  diary  since  we 
entered  Port  Foulke  will  have  noticed  how  gradually 
the  daylight  vanished,  and  with  what  slow  and  meas- 
ured step  the  darkness  came  upon  us.  As  November 
approached  its  close,  the  last  glimmer  of  twilight  dis- 
appeared. The  stars  shone  at  all  hours  with  equal 
brilliancy.  From  a  summer  which  had  no  night  we 
had  passed  into  a  winter  which  had  no  day,  through 
an  autumn  twilight.  In  this  strange  ordering  of  Na- 
ture there  is  something  awe-inspiring  and  unreal. 

We  all  knew  from  our  school-boy  days  that,  at  the 
poles  of  the  earth  there  is  but  one  day  and  one  night 
in  the  year  ;  but,  wrhen  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
reality,  it  is  hard  to  realize.  And  it  is  harder  still  to 
get  used  to.  If  the  constant  sunshine  of  the  summer 
disturbed  our  life-long  habits,  the  continual  darkness 
of  the  winter  did  more.  In  the  one  case  the  imagi- 
nation was  excited  by  the  ever-present  light,  inspiring 
action ;  in  the  other,  a  night  of  months  threw  a  cloud 
over  the  intellect  and  dwarfed  the  energies. 

To  this  prolonged  darkness  the  moon  gives  some 
relief.  From  its  rising  to  its  setting  it  shines  contin- 
ally,  circling  around  the  horizon,  never  setting  until 


MIDWINTER.  193 

it  has  run  its  ten  days'  course  of  brightness.  And  it 
shines  with  a  brilliancy  which  one  will  hardly  observe 
elsewhere.  The  uniform  whiteness  of  the  landscape 
and  the  general  clearness  of  the  atmosphere  add  to 
the  illumination  of  its  rays,  and  one  may  see  to  read 
by  its  light  with  ease,  and  the  natives  often  use  it  as 
they  do  the  sun,  to  guide  their  nomadic  life  and  to 
lead  them  to  their  hunting-grounds. 

The  days  and  weeks  of  midwinter  passed  slowly 
away.  Our  experience  up  to  this  period  was  in  many 
respects  remarkable.  Although  sheltered  by  high 
lands,  we  were  nevertheless  exposed  to  severe  and 
almost  constant  northeast  winds  ;  and  although  shut 
up  in  polar  darkness,  and  hemmed  in  by  polar  ice,  an 
open  sea  had  thus  far  been  within  sight  of  us  all  the 
time,  and  the  angry  waves  were  often  a  threatening 
terror.  Many  times  we  had  thought  ourselves  in  dan- 
ger of  being  cast  adrift  with  the  ice,  and  carried  out 
to  sea  in  a  helpless  condition. 

The  temperature  had  been  strangely  mild,  a  cir- 
cumstance at  least  in  part  accounted  for  by  the  open 
water,  and  to  this  same  cause  was  no  doubt  due  the 
great  disturbance  of  the  air,  and  the  frequency  of  the 
gales.  I  have  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  a  very 
remarkable  rise  in  the  thermometer  which  occurred 
early  in  November ;  but  a  still  greater  elevation  of 
temperature  followed  a  few  weeks  later,  reaching  as 
high  as  32°,  and  sinking  back  to  15°  below  zero  almost 
as  suddenly  as  it  had  risen.  In  consequence  of  this 
extraordinary  and  unaccountable  event,  the  thaw  was 
renewed,  and  our  former  discomfort  arising  from  the 
dampness  on  the  deck  and  in  our  quarters  was  expe- 
rienced in  an  aggravated  degree.  During  two  days 
(November  28th  and  29th)  we  could  use  no  other  fire 

13 


194  SNOW  CRYSTALS. 

than  what  was  necessary  for  the  preparation  of  our 
meals,  and  for  melting  our  necessary  supply  of  water. 
To  add  to  our  astonishment,  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  was 
followed  by  a  shower  of  rain,  a  circumstance  which  I 
had  not  previously  witnessed  in  this  latitude  except 
in  the  months  of  July  and  August,  and  then  scarcely 
more  rain  fell  than  on  the  present  occasion.  The 
depth  of  snow  precipitated  during  this  period  was 
likewise  remarkable, —  the  aggregate  being  32  inches. 
In  one  single  day  19  inches  were  deposited,  greater 
by  5  inches  than  the  entire  accumlations  of  the  win- 
ter of  1853-54  at  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor.  The  total 
amount  of  snow  which  had  fallen  up  to  the  first  of 
December  was  48  inches.  Being  so  far  north  of  the 
line  of  maximum  snows,  I  was  the  more  surprised,  as 
my  former  experience  appeared  to  have  shown  that 
the  region  of  Smith's  Sound  was  almost  wholly  free 
from  nubilous  deposits. 

I  was  much  interested  at  this  warm  period  in  ob- 
serving how  singularly  perfect  and  beautiful  were  the 
snow  crystals  ;  and  it  is  a  somewhat  singular  circum- 
stance that  the  perfect  crystals  are  only  exhibited 
when  the  snow  falls  in  a  temperature  comparatively 
mild.  I  have  not  observed  them  when  the  thermom- 
eter ranged  below  zero.  The  snow  is  then  quite  dry 
and  hard,  and  does  not  exhibit  those  soft,  thin,  trans- 
parent Hakes  of  the  warmer  air.  With  the  aid  of  a 
magnifying  glass,  I  was  enabled  to  obtain  very  accu- 
rate sketches  of  a  large  number  of  them.  Their  form 
was  always  hexagonal,  but  the  rays  were  very  various 
in  their  development,  although  they  all  possessed  the 
same  radical  foundation.  The  most  perfect  and  full 
suggested  a  diminutive  fern  leaf. 

As  we  neared  the  climax  of  the  winter  the  satisfac- 


AN  EPIDEMIC   AMONG  THE  DOGS.  195 

tory  progress  of  events  became  disturbed  by  a  series 
of  misfortunes  which  largely  influenced  the  destinies 
of  the  expedition,  and  which,  by  disarranging  all  of 
my  plans,  caused  me  grave  embarrassments. 

In  a  former  chapter  I  have  mentioned  that  a  disease 
had  been,  for  several  years,  prevailing  among  the  dogs 
of  Southern  Greenland,  and  that  a  large  proportion 
of  these  useful  animals  had  fallen  victims  to  it.  The 
cause  of  this  disease  had  not  been  determined,  but  I 
was  led  to  believe,  from  what  information  I  could 
obtain,  that  it  was  purely  of  local  origin,  and  that, 
therefore,  when  I  had  removed  my  teams  from  the 
seat  of  its  influence  I  would  be  freed  from  its  dangers. 
Under  this  impression  I  had  consumed  much  time  at 
the  Danish-Esquimau  settlements,  in  picking  up  here 
and  there  a  dog,  until  I  had  obtained  thirty-six  ani- 
mals. Up  to  the  first  of  December  they  remained 
in  perfect  health  ;  and,  being  fed  upon  an  abundant 
allowance  of  fresh  meat,  I  had  great  confidence  that  I 
should  be  able  to  carry  them  through  to  the  spring, 
and,  when  the  period  of  my  sledge  explorations  should 
arrive,  that  I  would  have  four  strong  and  serviceable 
teams.  My  fears  were  for  a  time  somewhat  excited 
by  the  information  received  from  Hans,  that  the  Es- 
quimaux of  Whale  Sound  and  vicinity,  with  whom  he 
had  been  living,  were  heavy  losers  by  the  death  of  a 
great  number  of  their  dogs,  and  the  description  which 
he  gave  of  this  distemper  corresponded  with  that  of 
Southern  Greenland  ;  but  November  being  passed 
without  any  symptoms  of  the  malady  having  made 
its  appearance  in  my  splendid  pack,  I  felt  hopeful  that 
they  would  escape  the  visitation.  The  loss  which 
Dr.  Kane  had  suffered  by  the  death  of  his  teams  was 
fresh  in  my  recollection ;  but  for  this  there  appeared 


196  AN  EPIDEMIC  AMONG  THE  DOGS. 

to  be  a  sufficient  cause.  Being  almost  wholly  with 
out  fresh  food  of  any  kind,  he  was  compelled  to  sub- 
sist his  teams  upon  salt  meats,  which,  giving  scurvy 
to  his  men,  could  hardly  be  expected  to  act  otherwise 
than  injuriously  upon  the  dogs,  which  had  always  be- 
fore been  used  to  a  fresh  diet  of  seal  meat. 

My  hopeful  anticipations  were,  however,  not  real- 
ized. One  day  early  in  December  Jensen  reported  to 
me-that  one  of  the  finest  animals  had  been  attacked 
with  the  disease,  and  recommended  that  it  should  be 
shot,  to  prevent  the  disease  spreading ;  and  this  was 
accordingly  done.  A  few  hours  afterwards  another 
one  was  seized  in  the  same  manner.  The  symptoms 
were  at  first  those  of  great  restlessness.  The  animal 
ran  several  times  around  the  ship,  first  one  way  and 
then  the  other,  with  a  vague  uncertainty  in  its  gait, 
and  with  an  alternate  raising  and  lowering  of  the 
head  and  tail,  every  movement  indicative  of  great 
nervous  excitement.  After  a  while  it  started  off 
toward  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  barking  all  the  while 
and  seeming  to  be  in  mortal  dread  of  some  imaginary 
object  from  which  it  was  endeavoring  to  fly.  In  a 
little  while  it  came  back,  still  more  excited  than  be- 
fore. These  symptoms  rapidly  increased  in  violence, 
the  eyes  became  bloodshot,  froth  ran  from  the  mouth, 
and  the  dog  became  possessed  of  an  apparently  uncon- 
trollable desire  to  snap  at  every  thing  which  came  in 
its  way. 

The  disease  ran  its  course  in  a  few  hours.  Weak- 
ness and  prostration  followed  the  excitement,  and  the 
poor  animal  staggered  around  the  vessel,  apparently 
unable  to  see  its  way,  and  finally  fell  over  in  a  fit. 
After  struggling  for  a  little  while  in  the  snow,  con- 
sciousness returned,  and  it  got  again  upon  its  feet. 


GREAT  MORTALITY  OF  DOGS.  197 

Another  fit  followed  soon  afterward ;  and  then  they 
came  one  after  another  in  rapid  succession,  until  finally 
its  misery  was  relieved  by  death,  which  occurred  in 
less  than  twenty-four  hours  from  the  beginning  of  the 
attack.  Meanwhile  I  had  watched  it  closely,  hoping 
to  discover  some  clew  to  the  cause,  and  to  establish  a 
cure.  But  I  could  obtain  no  light  whatever.  Dissec- 
tion revealed  nothing.  There  was  no  apparent  inflam- 
mation either  of  the  brain,  the  nerve  centres,  the  spi- 
nal cord,  or  the  nerves  themselves ;  and  I  was  wholly 
at  a  loss  to  understand  the  strange  phenomenon.  That 
it  was  not  hydrophobia  was  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  animal  rather  desired  than  shunned  water.  Many 
of  the  symptoms  attending  that  disease  were,  how- 
ever, manifested ;  but  it  did  not,  like  hydrophobia, 
appear  to  be  communicated  by  the  bite ;  for  those 
dogs  which  happened  to  be  bitten  were  not  more 
speedily  attacked  than  the  others. 

This  case  had  scarcely  reached  its  fatal  termina- 
tion before  another  was  reported,  and  it  was  relieved 
of  its  misery  by  a  bullet.  Seven  died  during  four 
days,  and  I  saw  with  consternation  my  fine  teams 
melting  away  and  my  hopes  endangered ;  and  while 
this  was  in  progress  I  could  only  look  on  and  wonder 
and  experiment,  but  could  neither  stop  the  contagion 
nor  arrest  the  evil. 

Among  the  first  dogs  attacked  was  a  superb  beast 
that  I  have  before  named.  He  was  the  best  draught 
animal  of  my  best  team,  the  second  leader,  —  Karsuk. 
I  have  never  seen  such  expression  of  ferocity  and  mad 
strength  exhibited  by  any  living  creature,  as  he  man- 
ifested two  hours  after  the  first  symptoms  were  ob- 
nerved.  Thinking  that  confinement  might  do  good, 
and  desiring  to  see  if  the  disease  would  not  wear  itself 


198  ONLY  ONE  TEAM  LEFT. 

out,  I  had  him  caught  and  put  into  a  large  box  on  the 
deck;  but  this  seemed  rather  to  aggravate  than  to 
soothe  the  violence  of  the  symptoms.  He  tore  the 
boards  with  indescribable  fierceness,  and,  getting  his 
teeth  into  a  crack,  ripped  off  splinter  after  splinter 
until  he  had  made  a  hole  almost  large  enough  for  his 
head,  when  I  ordered  him  to  be  shot.  At  this  mo- 
ment his  eyes  were  like  balls  of  fire  ;  he  had  broken 
off  one  of  his  tusks,  and  his  mouth  was  spouting  blood. 
Soon  afterward  another  fine  animal,  which  seemed  to 
be  perfectly  well  a  few  moments  before,  suddenly 
sprang  up,  dashed  off  with  a  wild  yell,  wheeled  round 
the  harbor,  returned  to  the  vessel,  and  there  fell  strug- 
gling in  a  fit.  I  had  him  tied,  but  he  tore  himself 
loose,  and,  fearful  for  the  other  dogs,  he  too  was  killed. 
Three  others  died  the  same  day,  and  the  deaths  during 
the  first  two  weeks  of  December  were  eighteen.  This, 
with  the  losses  before  sustained,  left  me  with  only 
twelve  animals.  One  week  later  these  were  reduced 
to  nine. 

The  serious  nature  of  this  disaster  will  perhaps  not 
at  first  be  apparent  to  the  reader.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  my  plans  of  exploration  for  the 
coming  spring  were  mainly  based  upon  dogs  as  a 
means  of  transportation  across  the  ice  ;  and  now  that 
my  teams  were  so  much  reduced  (and  it  seemed,  in- 
deed, likely  that  they  would  all  die)  it  became  very 
evident  that,  unless  I  should  be  able  to  supply  the 
loss,  all  of  my  plans  would  be  rendered  abortive. 

My  anxiety  was  fully  shared  by  Mr.  Sonntag. 
Having  failed  in  all  our  efforts  to  arrest  the  fatal 
tendency  of  the  malady,  we  could  only  occupy  our- 
selves with  devising  ways  and  means  for  remedying, 
in  some  degree,  the  evil,  or  to  arrange  new  plans  in 
conformity  with  our  changed  circumstances. 


PLANS   FOR  OBTAINING   DOGS.  199 

The  first  expedient  which  suggested  itself  was  to 
open  communication  with  the  Esquimaux  of  Whale 
Sound,  and,  in  the  event  of  this  being  accomplished, 
it  was  fair  to  suppose  that  some  animals  might  be 
obtained  from  them.  If  we  could  succeed  in  bringing 
the  tribe  to  the  vessel,  we  might  readily  accomplish 
our  wish ;  for,  during  the  period  that  their  dogs  would 
be  in  our  service,  we  could,  if  necessity  required  it, 
furnish  them  all  with  food,  either  from  our  stores  or 
from  the  hunt. 

Hans  was  consulted  concerning  the  Esquimaux,  and 
from  him  we  learned  that  there  was  a  family  living  on 
Northumberland  Island,  several  families  on  the  south 
side  of  Whale  Sound,  and  possibly  one  or  more  on  the 
north  side.  Northumberland  Island  was  about  a  hun- 
dred miles  distant  as  we  wrould  be  obliged  to  travel 
in  order  to  reach  it,  and  the  south  side  of  the  Sound 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  That  we  should  com- 
municate with  these  people  at  the  earliest  practicable 
moment  was  a  matter  of  the  first  importance.  If  a 
sufficient  number  of  the  dogs  should  remain  alive 
when  the  moon  came  in  December,  it  was  arranged 
that  Sonntag  should  make  the  journey  at  that  period, 
taking  a  single  sledge,  and  Hans  for  a  driver.  If  the 
dogs  should  all  die,  then  I  intended  to  go  down  on 
foot  as  soon  as  possible,  and  do  my  best  to  bring  all 
of  the  Esquimaux  to  Port  Foulke  and  Etah,  use  their 
clogs  while  we  needed  them,  and  feed  and  clothe  the 
people  in  the  interval.  Meanwhile,  however,  we  could 
only  wait  through  the  mid-De*ember  darkness,  and 
hope  that  the  month  would  end  more  auspiciously 
than  it  had  begun. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

tllE  ARCTIC  MIDNIGHT.  — 8ONNTAG  STARTS  FOR  WHALE  SOUND.  —  EFFECTS  OF 
DARKNESS  ON  THE  SPIRITS.  —  ROUTINE  OF  DUTIES.  —  CHRISTMAS  EVE  — 
CHRISTMAS  DAY.  — THE  CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

December  22d. 

THE  sun  has  reached  to-day  its  greatest  southern 
declination,  and  we  have  passed  the  Arctic  Midnight. 
The  winter  solstice  is  to  us  the  meridian  day,  as 
twelve  o'clock  is  the  meridian  hour  to  those  who 
dwell  in  lands  where  the  sun  comes  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  times  instead  of  once  in  the  "  revolving 
year." 

To  me  these  last  four  weeks  have  been  eventful 
ones,  and  I  hail  this  day  with  joy,  and  am  glad  to 
feel  that  we  are  now  on  the  downward  hill-side  of  the 
polar  darkness.  The  death  of  my  dogs  fills  me  with 
sadness,  and  this  sadness  is  doubled  when  I  think  that 
the  disaster  has  sent  Sonntag  into  the  dangers  of  the 
night  to  remedy  in  season  the  evil. 

Sonntag  set  out  yesterday  to  reach  the  Esquimaux. 
We  had  talked  the  matter  over  from  day  to  day,  and 
saw  clearly  that  it  was  the  only  thing  to  do.  Hans 
told  us  that  the  Esquimaux  would  congregate  about 
Cape  York  towards  the  spring,  and  it  was  evident  that 
if  we  waited  for  daylight  they  would  be  beyond  our 
reach.  There  seemed  from  Hans's  story  to  be  at  least 
a  reasonable  probability  that  some  of  them  might  be 
at  Sorfalik,  or  at  other  stations  on  the  north  side  of 


PREPARATIONS   FOR  A  JOURNEY.  201 

Whale  Sound,  and  Hans  had  no  doubt  that  the  jour- 
ney could  be  easily  made,  even  if  they  had  to  travel 
to  Northumberland  Island,  or  beyond,  tp  Netlik.  He 
was  eager  to  go,  and  Sonntag,  impatient  for  the 
trial,  was  waiting  only  for  the  moon  and  settled 
weather.  Hans  was  the  only  available  driver,  for  he 
alone  knew  where  to  find  the  native  villages,  and 
three  persons  to  one  sledge  was  against  all  the  canons 
of  Arctic  traveling.  Although  my  suspicions  had  been 
aroused  against  him  at  the  time  of  Peter's  disappear- 
ance, yet  nothing  had  been  proved,  and  Sonntag  liked 
him  quite  as  well  as  Jensen  for  a  driver,  and  still  re- 
tained faith  in  him.  To  take  Jensen  was  to  incumber 
himself  with  a  useless  hindrance.  The  journey  would 
be  a  rapid  one,  and  it  was  important  to  spare  all  need- 
less weight.  The  disease  among  the  dogs  subsided 
six  days  ago,  when  the  last  death  occurred,  leaving 
nine  good  animals,  all  of  which  Sonntag  took  with 
him. 

But  little  time  was  required  to  prepare  the  party 
for  the  journey.  Hans  made  for  himself  a  buffalo  bag 
wherein  to  sleep,  and  Sonntag  carried  for  his  own  use 
one  of  bear-skin  which  he  had  brought  from  Uperna- 
vik.  Their  provisions  were  for  twelve  days,  although 
it  is  not  expected  that  they  will  be  absent  so  long,  for 
the  distance  can  be  made  to  Northumberland  Island, 
if  they  are  required  to  go  so  far,  in  two  marches. 
Sonntag  and  myself  made  it  in  three  marches  in  De- 
cember, 1854.  It  is  often  made  by  the  Esquimaux  in 
one  journey,  and  Hans  seemed  to  look  upon  it  as  an 
easy  and  trifling  task.  They  carried  no  tent,  intend- 
ing to  rely  upon  the  snow  hut,  with  the  construction 
of  which  Hans  is,  of  necessity,  very  familiar,  and  Sonn- 
tag has  had,  in  years  past,  much  experience.  The 


202        SONNTAG  STARTS  FOR  WHALE  SOUND. 

plan  is  that  they  are  to  pass  over  the  glacier  back  of 
Cape  Alexander,  in  case  the  ice  should  not  be  firm 
around  the  cape,  and  thence  to  make  down  the  coast 
directly  for  Sorfalik.  In  the  event  of  Esquimaux  not 
being  found  at  that  place,  they  will  cross  over  the 
Sound  directly  for  Northumberland  Island,  unless 
they  shall  discover  good  reason  for  keeping  along  the 
coast  twenty  miles  further  for  Peteravik. 

The  weather  has  been  quite  stormy  up  to  yester- 
day, when  it  fell  calm,  and  the  thermometer  stood  at 
— 21°.  To-day  it  has  grown  much  milder,  and  light 
snow  is  falling.  The  temperature  is  above  zero,  and 
every  thing  looks  promising  for  the  travelers.  They 
have  been  absent  now  thirty-six  hours,  and  have,  no 
doubt,  passed  the  cape  and  are  well  on  the  journey. 

Their  start  occasioned  much  excitement,  and  aroused 
the  ship's  company  from  a  lethargic  disposition  into 
which  they  have  lately  seemed  inclined  to  fall  in  spite 
of  every  thing.  Sonntag  was  in  excellent  spirits,  and 
felt  confident  that  he  would  soon  bring  the  Esqui- 
maux and  dogs ;  and  he  rejoiced  over  the  prospect  of 
a  few  days  of  adventure.  Hans  was  lively  and  eager. 
He  cracked  his  whip,  the  dogs  bounded  into  their  col- 
lars, and  were  off  at  a  full  gallop.  The  sledge  glided 
glibly  over  the  snow ;  and,  as  they  plunged  out  into 
the  moonlight,  we  sent  after  them  the  true  nautical 
"  Hip,  hip,  hurrah ! "  three  times  repeated,  and  then  a 
« tiger."  » 

December  23d. 

I  had  a  strange  dream  last  night,  which  I  cannot 
help  mentioning ;  and,  were  I  disposed  to  supersti- 
tion, it  might  incline  me  to  read  in  it  an  omen  of  evil. 
I  stood  with  Sonntag  far  out  on  the  frozen  sea,  when 
suddenly  a  crash  was  heard  through  the  darkness,  and 


ROUTINE  OF  DUTIES.  203 

in  an  instant  a  crack  opened  in  the  ice  between  us. 
It  came  so  suddenly  and  widened  so  rapidly  that  he 
could  not  spring  over  it  to  where  I-  stood,  and  he 
sailed  away  upon  the  dark  waters  of  a  troubled  sea. 
I  last  saw  him  standing  firmly  upon  the  crystal  raft, 
his  erect  form  cutting  sharply  against  a  streak  of 
light  which  lay  upon  the  distant  horizon. 

Our  life  moves  on  with  unobstructed  monotony. 
There  are  but  few  incidents  to  mark  the  progress  of 
these  tedious  hours  of  darkness.  If  I  have  now  some 
fears  for  Sonntag,  yet  I  envy  him,  and  cannot  wonder 
at  his  eagerness  to  go,  independent  of  his  important 
object.  A  dash  among  the  Esquimau  villages,  and  a 
few  days  of  combat  with  the  storms  would  lift  one  out 
of  the  prolonged  dullness  of  this  waiting  for  the  day. 
Any  thing  in  the  world  is  better  than  inaction  and 
perpetual  sameness.  Rest  and  endless  routine  are  our 
portion.  The  ship's  duties  and  our  social  duties  are 
performed  from  week  to  week  with  the  same  painfully 
precise  regularity.  We  live  by  "bells,"  and  this  may 
be  true  in  a  double  sense.  "  Bells "  make  the  day, 
and  mark  the  progress  of  time.  But  for  these  "  bells," 
these  endless  "  bells,"  I  believe  we  should  all  lie  down 
and  sleep  on  through  the  eternal  night,  and  wake  not 
until  the  day  dawned  upon  us  in  the  long  hereafter. 
"  Bells "  tell  us  the  hours  and  the  half  hours,  and 
change  the  "watch,"  and  govern  the  divisons  of  time, 
as  at  sea.  "  One  bell "  calls  us  to  breakfast,  two  to 
lunch,  and  "  four  bells  "  is  the  dinner  summons.  "  Six 
bells  "  is  the  signal  for  putting  out  the  lights,  and  at 
"sev<en  bells"  we  open  our  eyes  again  to  the  same 
continuous  pale  glimmer  of  the  kerosene  lamp,  and 
we  awake  again  to  the  same  endless  routine  of  occu- 
pations, idleness,  and  ennui. 


204  ROUTINE   OF  DUTIES. 

The  hunters  continue  to  chase  the  reindeer  and 
foxes  in  the  moonlight, —  more,  however,  from  habit 
and  for  exercise  than  from  any  encouragement  they 
find  in  success ;  for,  even  when  the  moon  shines,  they 
can  shoot  only  at  random.  The  work  at  the  observa- 
tory goes  on,  an4  when  the  magnetic  "  term  day " 
comes  round  we  clamber  over  the  ice-foot  every  hour, 
and  it  marks  an  event.  The  occultations  of  Jupiter's 
satellites  are  carefully  observed  through  the  telescope, 
that  our  chronometers  may  not  go  astray  ;  the  tide 
continues  to  rise  and  fall,  regardless  of  the  vast  load 
of  ice  that  it  lifts,  and  indifferent  as  to  the  fact  that  it 
is  watched.  Dodge  keeps  up  his  ice-measurements, 
and  finds  that  the  crystal  table  has  got  down  to  our 
keel  (6|  feet),  so  that  we  are  resting  in  a  perfect  cra- 
dle. That  the  sailors  may  have  something  to  do,  I 
have  given  them  an  hour's  task  each  day  sewing  up 
canvas  bags  for  the  spring  journeys.  From  the  offi- 
cers I  continue  to  have  the  same  daily  reports ;  the 
newspaper  comes  out  regularly,  and  continues  to 
afford  amusement ;  the  librarian  hands  out  the  books 
every  morning,  and  they  are  well  read ;  the  officers 
and  the  men  have  no  new  means  of  entertainment, 
and  usually  fill  up  the  last  of  the  waking  hours  (I 
cannot  say  the  evening,  where  there  is  nothing  else 
but  night)  with  cards  and  pipes.  I  go  into  the  cabin 
oftener  than  I  used  to  ;  but  I  do  not  neglect  my  chess 
with  Knorr,  and,  until  Sonntag  left  us,  I  filled  up 
a  portion  of  every  evening  in  converse  with  him,  and, 
for  the  lack  of  any  thing  new,  we  talked  over  and 
over  again  of  our  summer  plans,  and  calculated  to  a 
nicety  the  measure  of  our  labor,  and  the  share  which 
each  would  take  of  the  work  laid  out. 

And  thus  we  jog  on  toward  the  spring ;  but  each 


EFFECTS   OF  DARKNESS.  205 

hour  of  the  darkness  grows  a  little  longer,  and  soaks 
a  little  more  color  from  the  blood,  and  takes  a  little 
more  from  the  elasticity  of  the  step,  and  adds  a  little 
more  to  the  lengthening  face,  and  checks  little  by 
little  the  cheerful  laugh  and  the  merry  jest  that  come 
from  the  hold  and  cabin ;  and,  without  being  willing 
to  confess  it  openly,  yet  we  are  all  forced  to  acknowl- 
edge to  ourselves  that  the  enemy  does  now  and  then 
get  the  better  of  us,  and  that  we  have  often  to  renew 
the  resolution.  The  novelty  of  our  life  is  exhausted, 
and  the  outside  world  has  nothing  new.  The  moon- 
light comes  and  goes  again,  and  the  night  glistens 
clear  and  cold  over  the  white  landscape  ;  and  the 
memory  returns  unbidden  to  other  days  that  are  fled 
and  gone ;  and  we  miss  in  the  sparkling  air  and  the 
still  hour  of  the  winter  night  the  jingling  bells,  and 
the  sleigh  which  will  always  hold  one  more,  and  the 
wayside  inn,  and  the  smoking  supper  that  "  mine 
host"  serves  up,  and  the  crackling  blaze  of  country 
logs;  and  then,  when  we  forget  the  moon,  and  the 
snow,  and  the  frost,  and  recall  the  summer  and  the 
sunshine,  we  remember  that  "  the  seat  in  the  shade 
of  the  hawthorn  bush "  is  far  away. 

December  24th. 

Christmas  Eve  !  What  happy  memories  are  recalled 
by  the  mention  of  that  name  !  How  much  of  youth- 
ful promise  it  brings  back  to  the  weary  mind  and  to 
the  aching  heart!  How  potent  is  the  charm,  how 
magical  the  influence !  A  beam  of  light  has  fallen 
within  this  little  ice-bound  vessel,  and  from  th'e  prom- 
ised morn  we  catch  the  same  inspiration  that  has 
come  to  all  mankind  since  "  that  bright  and  lovely 
Btar  "  first  rose  to  the  shepherds  of  Judea ;  for  wher- 


206  CHRISTMAS  EVE. 

ever  we  are  on  this  wide,  wide  world,  we  find  in  the 
day  the  symbol  which  binds  us  all  to  one  cherished 
hope.  Gladness  springs  into  being  with  the  rising 
sun,  and  the  Christmas  bells,  sending  their  merry 
voices  on  the  wings  of  the  returning  light,  encircle 
the  earth  in  one  continuous  peal.  Their  chimes  ring 
out  glad  tidings  everywhere.  The  joyous  music  re- 
joices the  lonely  watcher  on  the  sea,  and  the  hunter 
who  warms  himself  beside  the  embers  of  his  smoulder- 
ing fire ;  it  penetrates  the  humble  cabin  of  the  slave 
and  the  hut  of  the  weary  emigrant ;  it  reaches  the 
wanderer  on  the  steppes  of  Tartary,  and  the  savage 
in  the  forest ;  it  consoles  the  poor  and  the  sorrowing, 
and  the  rich  and  the  powerful ;  and  to  the  sick  and 
to  the  well  alike,  wherever  they  may  be  under  the 
sun,  it  brings  a  blessed  brightness  ;  —  and  it  gleams, 
too, 

.  ..."  on  the  eternal  snows,  beneath  the  Polar  Star, 
And  with  a  radiant  Cross  it  lights  the  Southern  deep  afar. 
And  Christmas  morn  is  but  the  dawn,  the  herald  of  a  day 
That  circles  in  its  boundless  love,  no  winter,  no  decay." 

I  have  never  seen  the  ship  so  bright  and  cheerful. 
Sundry  boxes  have  been  produced  from  out-of-the-way 
corners,  and  from  the  magical  manner  of  their  appear- 
ance one  might  think  that  Santa  ClauS  had  charged 
himself  with  a  special  mission  to  this  little  world,  be- 
fore he  had  begun  to  fill  the  shoes  and  stockings  and 
to  give  marriage  portions  to  destitute  maidens,, in  the 
dear  old  lands  where  he  is  patron  of  the  "  Christ  Kin- 
kle  Eve,"  and  where  the  silver  cord  binding  the  affec- 
tions is  freshened  once  a  year  with  the  Christmas 
offering.  The  cabin-table  fairly  groans  under  a  mass 
of  holiday  fare,  —  kindly  mementos  from  those  who 
are  talking  about  us  to-night  around  the  family  fire- 


CHRISTMAS  DAY.  207 

side.  Shoals  of  bon-bons,  and  "  Christmas  cakes  "  of 
every  imaginable  kind,  bearing  all  sorts  of  tender 
mottoes,  come  out  of  their  tin  cases,  setting  off  pro- 
spective indigestion  against  glad  hearts. 

Everybody  has  been  busy  to-day  getting  ready  to 
celebrate  the  morrow  and  to  keep  the  holidays.  To 
this  praiseworthy  purpose  I  give,  of  course,  every  en- 
couragement. The  ship's  stores  contain  nothing  that 
is  too  good  for  the  Christmas  feast,  which  McCor- 
mick  promises  shall  outdo  that  of  his  birthday.  Un- 
fortunately he  will  be  unable  to  give  it  his  per- 
sonal attention,  for  he  is  laid  up  with  a  frosted  foot 
which  he  got  while  hunting,  in  some  manner  known 
only  to  himself.  As  no  one  at  home  likes  to  confess 
that  he  has  been  run  away  with  and  thrown  from  his 
steed,  so  no  one  here  cares  to  own  to  the  power  of 
Jack  Frost  over  him.  To  be  frost-bitten  is  the  one 
standing  reproach  of  this  community. 

December  26th. 

Christmas  has  come  and  gone  again,  and  has  left 
upon  the  minds  of  all  of  us  a  pleasant  recollection. 
To  me  it  would  have  been  a  day  of  unalloyed  pleas- 
ure, had  it  not  been  that  my  thoughts  followed  Sonn- 
tag,  and  dwelt  upon  the  sad  loss  that  I  have  suffered 
in  the  death  of  my  dogs ;  for  the  people  were  gay 
and  lively,  and  to  see  them  thus  is  now  my  first  con- 
cern. Aside  from  all  sentiment  connected  with  wish- 
ing people  happy,  to  me  it  has  another  meaning,  for 
it  is  the  guaranty  of  health. 

The  ship's  bell  was  hoisted  to  the  mast-head,  and 
while  the  bells  of  other  lands  were  pealing  through 
the  sunlight,  and  over  a  world  of  gladness,  ours  sent 
its  clear  notes  ringing  through  the  darkness  and  the 


208  CHRISTMAS   DAY. 

solitude.  After  this  we  met  together  in  the  cabin,  and 
gave  our  thanks  in  our  own  modest  way  for  the  bless- 
ings which  kind  Heaven  had  vouchsafed  us ;  and 
then  each  one  set  himself  about  his  allotted  duties.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  these  duties  concerned  chiefly 
the  preparation  and  advancement  of  every  thing 
which  concerned  a  "  Christmas  dinner."  The  officers 
dressed  the  cabin  with  flags,  and  the  sailors  deco- 
rated their  walls  and  beams  with  stripes  of  red,  white, 
and  blue  flannel  which  was  lent  them  from  the 
ship's  stores.  The  schooner  was  illuminated  through- 
out, and  every  lamp  was  called  into  requisition.  An 
extra  allowance  of  oil  was  granted  to  the  occasion, 
and  the  upper-deck  was  refulgent  with  light.  Two 
immense  chandeliers  were  constructed  for  the  dinner- 
tables,  and  some  gold  and  silver  paper,  strings  of  span- 
gles, and  strips  of  braid,  kindly  presented  to  us  by 
Mr.  Horstmann  for  the  winter  theatricals,  which  have 
never  come  off,  covered  the  wood  of  which  they  were 
composed,  and  gave  them  quite  an  air  of  splendor ; 
while  two  dozen  of  spermaceti  candles  brilliantly 
illuminated  the  apartments  in  which  they  hung. 

A  short  time  before  the  dinner-hour  I  visited  the 
men's  quarters,  at  their  request,  and  was  as  much 
gratified  with  the  taste  that  they  had  exhibited  as 
with  the  heartiness  with  which  they  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  the  day.  Every  nook  and  corner  of  the  hold 
was  as  clean  and  tidy  as  possible.  Everybody  was 
busy  and  delighted.  The  cook  might,  however,  be 
regarded  as  an  exception  to  the  latter  rule,  for  the 
success  of  everybody's  projects  depended  upon  his 
skill,  and  he  was  closely  watched.  I  halted  at  his 
red-hot  galley-stove,  and  wished  him  a  merry  Christ- 
mas "  Tank  you,  sar  ! "  said  he ;  "  but  I  gets  no  time 


MERRY  CHRISTMAS.  209 

to  link  about  de  merry  Christmas.  De  Commander 
see  dese  big  reindeers."  And  he  went  on  vigorously 
basting  two  fine  haunches  of  venison  which  had  been 
carefully  treasured  for  the  occasion,  and  putting  the 
last  touches  to  a  kettle  of  tempting  soup.  Intending 
encouragement,  I  reminded  him  that  his  labors  would 
be  over  with  the  serving  of  the  dinner,  when,  with 
that  consistency  for  which  human  nature  is  remark- 
able, especially  in  a  ship's  cook,  he  replied,  "  Please 
sar,  so  long  as  my  Hebenly  Fader  gives  me  healt  I 
likes  to  vork." 

As  I  passed  out  of  the  hold  into  the  officers'  cabin, 
the  crew  sent  after  me  three  cheers,  and  three  more 
for  the  expedition,  and  I  don't  know  how  many  fol- 
lowed afterward  for  a  "  merry  Christmas "  to  them 
selves.  The  upper-deck  was  light  and  cheerful  with 
the  multitude  of  lamps,  and  had  been  "  cleared  up  " 
with  unusual  care  ;  and  from  amidships  every  thing 
had  been  removed.  This  Knorr  told  me  was  his  work, 
and  I  was  informed  that  there  was  to  be  a  "  ball." 
The  disposition  to  consume  oil  was  contagious.  Even 
the  heathenish  little  wife  of  my  absent  hunter  had 
managed  to  procure  an  additional  supply,  and  rejoiced 
in  an  extra  blaze  in  honor  of  the  day,  the  meaning  of 
which  was  all  Greek  to  her.  Her  hut  was  a  cheerful 
nest  of  furs,  and  little  Pingasuik,  with  a  strip  of  tough 
seal-blubber,  substituted  for  one  of  Goodyear's  patent 
arrangements  for  children's  gums,  was  laughing  and 
crowing  as  a  Christian  baby  would  be  expected  to  do 
on  this  most  Christian  day.  Jacob,  fat  Jacob,  was 
grinning  in  one  corner.  Charley  told  me  that  he  be- 
gan grinning  early  in  the  morning,  at  the  prospect  of 
the  manv  crumbs  to  come  from  so  bounteous  a  feast ; 

«/ 

and,  in  order  to  prepare  himself  for  the  task,  he  had 
u 


210  AN  ARCTIC  BALL. 

swallowed  a  fox  which  Jensen  brought  in  from  one  of 
his  traps,  and  which  he  had  turned  over  to  the  boy  to 
skin.  Out  on  the  ice  I  found  a  boisterous  group  en- 
gaged around  two  large  tin  kettles.  They  were  stir- 
ring something  with  wooden  sticks,  and  I  found  that, 
at  34°  below  zero,  they  were  making  "  water  ice  "  and 
"Roman  punch"  by  wholesale.  They  needed  no 
chemical  compounds  for  their  "freezer." 

At  six  o'clock  I  joined  the  officers  at  dinner.  Our 
glass  and  crockery  has,  in  some  mysterious  manner 
known  only  to  the  steward,  been  disappearing  from 
the  time  of  leaving  Boston,  but  there  is  plenty  of  tin 
ware  to  supply  the  deficiency,  and  each  cup  contained 
a  boquet  of  flowers,  cut  from  tissue-paper,  and  a  mam- 
moth centre-piece  of  the  same  materials  stood  under 
the  glittering  chandelier.  The  dinner  was  much  en- 
joyed by  everybody,  and  if  we  lacked  the  orthodox 
turkey,  the  haunch  was  not  a  bad  substitute. 

I  remained  until  nine  o'clock,  and  left  the  party  to 
a  merry  evening.  The  hour  for  extinguishing  the 
lights  was  put  off  at  discretion ;  and,  having  myself 
granted  this  privilege,  I  cannot,  of  course,  say  that 
any  of  the  proprieties  of  discipline  or  of  ship-board 
life  were  interfered  with.  Rejoiced  to  see  that  the 
people  had  the  spirit  to  be  merry  at  all,  I  was  only 
too  glad  to  encourage  them  in  it.  Every  part  of  the 
"  Festival,"  as  they  facetiously  call  it,  was  conducted 
in  a  very  orderly  manner.  The  "  ball "  came  off  as 
promised,  and  when  I  went  up,  about  midnight,  to 
have  a  look  at  the  merrymakers,  I  found  Knorr, 
wrapped  in  furs,  seated  upon  a  keg,  fiddling  away  in 
a  very  energetic  manner,  while  Barnum  and  McDo- 
nald were  going  through  a  sailor's  hornpipe  with  im- 
mense eclat ;  then  Carl  swung  the  steward  round  in 


A  PAS  DE  DEUX.  211 

the  "  giddy  mazes  of  the  waltz ;  "  and,  finally,  Charley 
set  the  ship  shaking  with  laughter  by  attempting  a 
pas  de  deux  with  Madame  Hans.  The  old  cook  had 
crawled  up  the  ladder  from  below,  and,  forgetting  his 
troubles  and  his  "  reindeers,"  applauded  the  actors 
vociferously.  But  he  was  soon  observed  to  be  mak- 
ing off  from  the  "  gay  and  festive  "  scene.  A  dozen 
voices  called  loudly  after  him,  — 

"  Hallo,  cook  !  —  come  back  and  have  a  dance  ! " 

"  Vat  for  me  dance,  and  make  nonsense,  ven  dere 
be  no  vomens  ?  " 

"  But  here  's  Mrs.  Hans,  cook." 

"  Ugh ! "  —  and  he  dived  below. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  NEW  YEAR  —LOOKING  FOR  SONNTAQ.  — THE  AURORA  BOREALIS.— A  RE- 
MARKABLE DISPLAY.  —  DEPTH  OF  SNOW.  —  STRANGE  MILDNESS  OF  THH 
WKATUER.  —  THE  OPEN  SEA.  —  EVAPORATION  AT  LOW  TEMPERATURES.— 
LOOKING  FOR  THE  TWILIGHT.— MY  PET  FOX. 

January  1st,  1861. 

THE  Christmas  holidays  have  passed  quickly  away, 
and  the  year  of  grace  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one 
was  born  amid  great  rejoicings.  We  have  just  "rung 
out  the  Old  and  in  the  New."  As  the  clock  showed 
the  midnight  hour,  the  bell  was  tolled,  our  swivel  gun 
sent  a  blaze  of  fire  from  its  little  throat  into  the  dark- 
ness, and  some  fire-works  went  fizzing  and  banging 
into  the  clear  sky.  The  rockets  and  blue-lights 
gleamed  over  the  snow  with  a  weird  and  strange 
light ;  and  the  loud  boom  of  the  gun  and  the  crash 
of  the  bell  echoing  and  reechoing  through  the  neigh- 
boring gorges  seemed  like  the  voices  of  startled  spir- 
its of  the  solitude. 

I  now  look  anxiously  for  the  return  of  Sonntag  and 
Hans.  Indeed,  I  have  been  prepared  to  see  them  at 
any  time  within  these  past  seven  days  ;  for  although 
I  had  little  expectation  that  they  would  find  Esqui- 
maux at  Sorfalik  or  Peteravik,  yet  their  speedy  return 
would  not  have  surprised  me.  This  is  the  tenth  day 
of  their  absence,  and  they  have  had  more  than  ample 
time  to  go  even  to  the  south  side  of  Whale  Sound 
and  come  back  again.  I  am  the  more  anxious  now 
that  the  moon  has  set,  and  the  difficulties  of  traveling 


LOOKING  FOR  SONNTAG.  213 

are  so  greatly  multiplied.  However,  Sonntag  had  an 
undisguised  wish  to  remain  some  time  among  the  na- 
tives, to  study  their  language  and  habits,  and  to  join 
them  in  their  hunting  excursions ;  and  when  he  left 
I  felt  quite  sure  that,  if  a  reasonable  pretext  could  be 
found  for  absenting  himself  so  long,  we  would  not  see 
him  until  the  January  moon.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
he  will  remain  if  he  finds  no  interest  of  the  expedi- 
tion likely  to  suffer  in  consequence. 

January  5th. 

I  have  no  longer  a  dog.  The  General  was  the  last 
of  them,  and  he  died  two  days  ago.  Poor  fellow  !  I 
had  become  more  than  ever  attached  to  him.  lately, 
especially  since  he  had  quite  recovered  from  the  acci- 
dent to  his  leg,  and  seemed  likely  to  be  useful  with 
the  sledge  after  a  while.  It  seems  strange  to  see  the 
place  so  deserted  and  so  quiet.  In  the  early  winter  I 
never  went  out  of  the  vessel  on  the  ice  without  hav- 
ing the  whole  pack  crowding  around  me,  playing  and 
crying  in  gladness  at  my  coming ;  now  their  lifeless 
carcasses  are  strewn  about  the  harbor,  half  buried  in 
snow  and  ice,  and,  if  not  so  fearful,  they  are  at  least 
hardly  more  sightly  than  were  those  other  stiff  and 
stark  and  twisted  figures  which  the  wandering  poets 
found  beneath  the  dark  sky  and  "  murky  vapors  "  and 
frozen  waters  of  the  icy  realm  of  Dis.  There  was  a 
companionship  in  the  dogs,  which,  apart  from  their 
usefulness,  attached  them  to  everybody,  and  in  this 
particular  we  all  feel  alike  the  greatness  of  the  loss. 

But  it  is  hard  to  get  along  without  a  pet  of  some 
Kind,  and  since  the  General  has  gone  I  have  got  Jen- 
sen to  catch  me  a  fox,  and  the  cunning  little  creature 
now  sits  coiled  up  in  a  tub  of  snow  in  one  corner  of 


214  THE  AUKORA  BOREALIS. 

my  cabin  ;  and,  as  she  listens  to  the  scratching  of  my 
pen,  she  looks  very  much  as  if  she  would  like  to  know 
what  it  is  all  about.  I  am  trying  hard  to  civilize  her, 
and  have  had  some  success.  She  was  very  shy  when 
brought  in,  but,  being  left  to  herself  for  a  while,  she 
has  become  somewhat  reconciled  to  her  new  abode. 
She  is  about  three  fourths  grown,  weighs  four  and  a 
quarter  pounds,  has  a  coat  of  long  fine  fur,  resembling 
in  color  that  of  a  Maltese  cat,  and  is  being  instructed 
to  answer  to  the  name  of  Birdie. 

January  6th. 

I  have  often  been  struck  with  the  singular  circum- 
stance that  up  to  this  time  we  have  scarcely  seen  the 
Aurora  Borealis  ;  and  until  to-day  there  has  been  no 
display  of  any  great  brilliancy.  We  have  been  twice 
favored  during  the  past  twelve  hours.  The  first  was 
at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the  second  at 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  arch  was  perfect  in 
the  last  case ;  in  the  former  it  was  less  continuous, 
but  more  intense.  In  both  instances,  the  direction  of 
the  centre  from  the  observatory  was  west  by  south 
(true),  and  was  30°  above  the  horizon.  Twenty  de- 
grees above  the  arch  in  the  evening  there  was  another 
imperfect  one,  a  phenomenon  which  1  have  not  before 
witnessed.  In  the  direction  west-northwest  a  single 
ray  shot  down  to  the  horizon,  and  there  continued  for 
almost  an  hour. 

The  infrequency  of  the  Auroral  light  has  been  more 
marked  here  than  at  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor.  We 
seem  to  have  passed  almost  beyond  it.  The  region 
of  its  greatest  brilliancy  appears  to  be  from  ten  to 
twenty  degrees  farther  south.  As  at  Van  Rensselaer 
Harbor,  its  exhibition  is  almost  invariably  on  the 
western  sky ;  and  Jensen  tells  me  that  this  occurs 


AURORA.  215 

at  Upernavik,  and  he  says  also  that  the  phenomena 
are  there  much  more  brilliant  and  of  greater  fre- 
quency than  here. 

The  display  of  the  morning  was  much  finer  than 
that  of  the  evening.  Indeed,  I  have  rarely  witnessed 
a  more  sublime  or  imposing  spectacle.  By  the  way, 
how  strange  it  seems  to  be  speaking  of  events  hap- 
pening in  the  morning  and  in  the  evening,  when,  to 
save  your  life,  you  could  not  tell  without  the  clock 
by  what  name  to  call  the  divisions  of  time  !  We 
say  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  evening  from  habit ;  but  if,  by  any  mischance, 
we  should  lose  our  reckoning  for  twelve  hours,  we 
would  then  go  on  calling  the  evening  morning  and 
the  morning  evening,  without  being  able  to  detect 
the  error  by  any  difference  in  the  amount  of  light 
at  these  two  periods  of  the  day.  But  this  is  a  di- 
gression. 

To  come  back  to  the  Aurora  of  this  morning.  "When 
it  first  appeared  I  was  walking  out  among  the  ice- 
bergs at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor ;  and,  although  the 
time  was  so  near  noon,  yet  I  was  groping  through 
a  darkness  that  was  exceedingly  embarrassing  to  my 
movements  among  the  rough  ice.  Suddenly  a  bright 
ray  darted  up  from  behind  the  black  cloud  which  lay 
low  down  on  the  horizon  before  me.  It  lasted  but  an 
instant,  and,  having  filled  the  air  with  a  strange  illumi- 
nation, it  died  away,  leaving  the  darkness  even  more 
profound  than  before.  Presently  the  arch  which  I 
have  before  mentioned  sprang  across  the  sky,  and  the 
Aurora  became  gradually  more  fixed.  The  space  in- 
closed by  the  arch  was  very  dark,  and  was  filled  with 
the  cloud.  The  play  of  the  rays  which  rose  from  its 
steadily  brightening  border  was  for  some  time  very 


216  AURORA. 

capricious,  alternating,  if  I  might  be  allowed  the  fig- 
ure, the  burst  of  flame  from  a  conflagration  with  the 
soft  glow  of  the  early  morn.  The  light  grew  by 
degrees  more  and  more  intense,  and  from  irregular 
bursts  it  settled  into  an  almost  steady  sheet  of  bright- 
ness. This  sheet  was,  however,  far  from  uniform,  for 
it  was  but  a  flood  of  mingling  and  variously-tinted 
streaks.  The  exhibition,  at  first  tame  and  quiet,  be- 
came in  the  end  startling  in  its  brilliancy.  The 
broad  dome  above  me  is  all  ablaze.  Ghastly  fires, 
more  fierce  than  those  which  lit  the  heavens  from 
burning  Troy,  flash  angrily  athwart  the  sky.  The 
stars  pale  before  the  marvellous  glare,  and  seem  to 
recede  further  and  further  from  the  earth,  —  as  when 
the  chariot  of  the  Sun,  driven  by  Phaeton,  and  carried 
from  its  beaten  track  by  the  ungovernable  steeds, 
rushed  madly  through  the  skies,  parching  the  world 
and  withering  the  constellations.  The  gentle  An- 
dromeda flies  trembling  from  the  flame  ;  Perseus, 
with  his  flashing  sword  and  Gorgon  shield,  retreats 
in  fear ;  the  Pole  Star  is  chased  from  the  night,  and 
the  Great  Bear,  faithful  sentinel  of  the  North,  quits 
his  guardian  watch,  following  the  feeble  trail.  The 
color  of  the  light  was  chiefly  red,  but  this  was  not 
constant,  and  every  hue  mingled  in  the  fierce  dis- 
play. Blue  and  yellow  streamers  were  playing  in  the 
lurid  fire ;  and,  sometimes  starting  side  by  side  from 
the  wide  expanse  of  the  illumined  arch,  they  rnelt  into 
each  other,  and  throw  a  ghostly  glare  of  green  into 
the  face  and  over  the  landscape.  Again  this  green 
overrides  the  red ;  blue  and  orange  clasp  each  other 
in  their  rapid  flight ;  violet  darts  tear  through  a  broad 
flush  of  yellow,  and  countless  tongues  of  white  flame, 
formed  of  these  uniting  streams,  rush  aloft  and  lick 


DEPTH   OF   SNOW.  217 

the  skies.  The  play  of  this  many-colored  light  upon 
the  surrounding  objects  was  truly  wonderful.  The 
weird  forms  of  countless  icebergs,  singly  and  in  clus- 
ters, loomed  above  the  sea,  and  around  their  summits 
the  strange  gleam  shone  as  the  fires  of  Vesuvius  over 
the  doomed  temples  of  Campania.  Upon  the  moun- 
tain tops,  along  the  white  surface  of  the  frozen  waters, 
upon  the  lofty  cliffs,  the  light  glowed  and  grew  dim 
and  glowed  again,  as  if  the  air  was  filled  with  charnel 
meteors,  pulsating  with  wild  inconstancy  over  some 
vast  illimitable  city  of  the  dead.  The  scene  was 
noiseless,  yet  the  senses  were  deceived,  for  unearthly 
sounds  seemed  to  follow  the  rapid  flashes,  and  to  fall 
upon  the  ear  like 

"  the  tread 

Of  phantoms  dread, 
With  banner,  and  spear,  and  flame." 

January  13th. 

The  month  of  January  runs  on  through  stormy 
skies.  The  wind  continues  to  blow  as  before,  and  the 
wild  rush  of  gales  fills  the  night  with  sounds  of  terror. 

The  air  has  been,  however,  for  the  most  part,  quite 
clear.  But  little  snow  has  fallen  since  November. 
The  total  depth  now  mounts  up  to  53^  inches.  I  am 
more  and  more  struck  with  the  difference  in  the  at- 
mospheric conditions  of  this  place  and  Van  Rensselaer 
Harbor.  There  we  had  rarely  moisture,  and  gales 
were  scarcely  known.  The  temperatures  were  very 
low,  and  the  winter  was  marked  by  a  general  calm. 
Here  the  temperatures  are  more  mild  than  Parry's  at 
Melville  Island,  the  atmospheric  disturbances  have 
been  very  great,  and  the  amount  of  snow  has  been 
truly  surprising.  There  is  one  comfort  at  least  in  the 
winds.  They  either  carry  off  the  snow  or  pack  it 


218        EVAPORATION  AT  LOW  TEMPERATURES. 

very  hard,  so  that  we  get  about  with  as  little  diffi- 
culty as  if  we  were  walking  upon  the  bare  ice.  It  is 
pounded  as  hard  as  the  drives  in  the  Central  Park. 

All  these  unusual  phenomena  are,  as  has  been  hith- 
erto observed,  doubtless  due  to  the  close  proximity  of 
the  open  sea.  How  extensive  this  water  may  be  is  of 
course  unknown,  but  its  limits  cannot  be  very  small 
to  produce  such  serious  atmospheric  disturbance.  It 
seems,  indeed,  as  if  we  were  in  the  very  vortex  of  the 
north  winds.  The  poet  has  told  us  that  the  north 

winds 

"  Are  cradled  far  down  in  the  depths  that  yawn 
Beneath  the  Polar  Star ;  " 

and  it  appears  very  much  as  if  we  had  got  into  those 
yawning  depths,  and  had  come  not  only  to  the  place 
where  the  winds  are  cradled,  but  where  they  are 
born. 

I  have  been  making,  all  the  winter  through,  a  series 
of  experiments  which  give  me  some  interesting  re- 
sults. They  show  that  evaporation  takes  place  at  the 
very  lowest  temperatures,  and  that  precipitation  often 
occurs  when  the  air  is  apparently  quite  clear.  To 
determine  this  latter,  I  have  exposed  a  number  of 
smooth  and  carefully  measured  ice-surfaces,  and  have 
collected  from  them  the  light  deposit.  These  accu- 
mulations, after  reducing  them  to  the  standard  of 
freshly  fallen  snow,  amount  thus  far  to  seven  eighths 
of  an  inch.  To  determine  the  evaporation,  I  have 
suspended  in  the  open  air  a  number  of  thin  ice-plates, 
made  in  a  shallow  dish,  and  some  strips  of  wet  flannel. 
The  flannel  becomes  perfectly  dry  in  a  few  days,  and 
the  ice-plates  disappear  slowly  and  steadily.  I  gen- 
erally weigh  them  every  second  day,  and  it  is  curious 
to  watch  my  little  circular  disks  silently  melting  away 


MY  PET  FOX.  219 

and  vanishing  "  into  thin  air,"  while  the  thermometer 
is  down  in  the  zeros. 

This  evaporation  at  low  temperatures  is  constantly 
taking  place  before  our  eyes,  to  our  advantage.  On 
wash-days  the  clothes  are  hung  on  lines  stretched 
across  the  ship's  rigging,  or  upon  poles  across  the  ice, 
as  you  will  see  on  Monday  afternoons  in  the  farm- 
house yards ;  and  before  the  week  is  over  the  moist- 
ure has  disappeared,  no  matter  how  cold  it  may  be. 

January  16th. 

Our  eyes  now  turn  wistfully  to  the  south,  eagerly 
watching  for  the  tip  of  Aurora's  chariot,  as  the  fair 
goddess  of  the  morning  rises  from  the  sea  to  drop  a 
ray  of  gladness  from  her  rosy  fingers  into  this  long- 
neglected  world. 

It  is  almost  a  month  since  we  passed  the  darkest 
day  of  the  winter,  and  it  will  be  a  long  time  yet  be- 
fore we  have  light ;  but  it  is  time  for  us  now  to  have 
at  noontime  a  faint  flush  upon  the  horizon.  We  find 
a  new  excitement,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  in  the  im- 
patience of  expectation.  Meanwhile  I  pet  my  fox. 

Birdie  has  become  quite  tame,  and  does  great  credit 
to  her  instructor.  She  is  the  most  cunning  creature 
that  was  ever  seen,  and  does  not  make  a  bad  substi- 
tute for  the  General.  She  takes  the  General's  place 
at  my  table,  as  she  has  his  place  in  my  affections ;  but 
she  sits  in  my  lap,  where  the  General  never  was  ad- 
mitted, and,  with  her  delicate  little  paws  on  the  cloth, 
she  makes  a  picture.  Why,  she  is  indeed  a  perfect 
little  gourmande,  well  bred,  too,  and  clever.  When  she 
takes  the  little  morsels  into  her  mouth  her  eyes  spar- 
kle with  delight,  she  wipes  her  lips,  and  looks  up  at 
me  with  a  coquetterie  that  is  perfectly  irresistible.  The 


220  MY  PET  FOX. 

eagerness  of  appetite  is  controlled  by  the  proprieties 
of  the  table  and  a  proper  self-respect ;  and  she  is  sat- 
isfied to  prolong  a  feast  in  which  she  finds  so  much 
enjoyment.  She  does  not  like  highly  seasoned  food  ; 
indeed,  she  prefers  to  take  it  an  nature!,  so  [  have  a 
few  little  bits  of  venison  served  for  her  on  a  separate 
plate.  She  has  her  own  fork  ;  but  she  has  not  yet 
advanced  sufficiently  far  in  the  usages  of  civilization 
to  handle  it  for  herself,  so  I  convey  the  delicate  mor- 
sels to  her  mouth.  Sometimes  she  exhibits  too  much 
impatience ;  but  a  gentle  rebuke  with  the  fork  on 
the  tip  of  the  nose  is  quite  effective  in  restoring  her 
patience,  and  saving  her  from  indigestion. 

Her  habits  greatly  interest  me.  I  have  allowed  her 
to  run  loose  in  my  cabin,  after  a  short  confinement 
in  a  cage  had  familiarized  her  with  the  place  ;  but 
she  soon  found  out  the  "bull's-eye"  over  my  head, 
through  the  cracks  around  which  she  could  sniff  the 
cool  air;  and  she  got  into  the  habit  of  bounding 
over  the  shelves,  without  much  regard  for  the  many 
valuable  and  perishable  articles  which  lay  thereon. 
From  this  retreat  nothing  can  tempt  her  but  a  good 
dinner;  and  as  soon  as  she  sees  from  her  perch  the 
bits  of  raw  venison,  she  crawls  leisurely  down,  sneaks 
gently  into  my  lap,  looks  up  longingly  and  lovingly 
into  my  face,  puts  out  her  little  tongue  with  quick 
impatience,  and  barks  bewitchingly  if  the  beginning 
of  the  repast  is  too  long  delayed. 

I  tried  to  cure  her  of  this  habit  of  climbing  by 
tying  her  up  with  a  chain  which  Knorr  made  for  me 
of  some  iron  wire  ;  but  she  took  it  so  much  to  heart 
that  I  had  to  let  her  go.  Her  efforts  to  free  herself 
were  very  amusing,  and  she  well  earned  her  freedom. 
She  tried  continually  to  break  the  chain,  and,  having 


MY  PET  FOX.  221 

once  succeeded,  she  seemed  determined  not  to  be  baf- 
fled in  her  subsequent  attempts.  As  long  as  I  was 
watching  her  she  would  be  quiet  enough,  coiled  up  in 
her  bed  or  her  tub  of  snow  ;  but  the  moment  my  eyes 
were  off  her,  or  she  thought  me  asleep,  she  worked 
hard  to  effect  her  liberation.  First  she  would  draw 
herself  back  as  far  as  she  could  get,  and  then  suddenly 
darting  forward,  would  bring  up  at  the  end  of  her 
chain  with  a  jerk  which  sent  her  reeling  on  the  floor ; 
then  she  would  pick  herself  up,  panting  as  if  her  little 
heart  would  break,  shake  out  her  disarranged  coat, 
and  try  again.  But  this  she  would  do  with  much  de- 
liberation. For  a  moment  she  would  sit  quietly  down, 
cock  her  head  cunningly  on  one  side,  follow  the  chain 
with  her  eye  along  its  whole  length  to  its  fastening  in 
the  floor,  and  then  she  would  walk  leisurely  to  that 
point,  hesitate  a  moment,  and  then  make  another 
plunge.  All  this  time  she  would  eye  me  sharply, 
and  if  I  made  any  movement,  she  would  fall  down 
at  once  €>n  the  floor  and  pretend  sleep. 

She  is  a  very  neat  and  cleanly  creature.  She  is 
everlastingly  brushing  her  clothes,  and  she  bathes  very 
regularly  in  her  bath  of  snow.  This  last  is  her  great 
delight.  She  roots  up  the  clean  white  flakes  with  her 
diminutive  nose,  rolls  and  rubs  and  half  buries  herself 
in  them,  wipes  her  face  with  her  soft  paws,  and  when 
all  is  over  she  mounts  with  her  delicate  fingers  to  the 
side  of  the  tub,  looks  around  her  very  knowingly, 
and  barks  the  prettiest  little  bark  that  ever  was 
heard.  This  is  her  way  of  enforcing  admiration  ;  and, 
being  now  satisfied  with  her  performance,  she  gives  a 
goodly  number  of  shakes  to  her  sparkling  coat,  and 
then,  happy  and  refreshed,  she  crawls  to  her  airy  bed 
in  the  "  bull's-eye  "  and  sleeps. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  ARCTIC  NIGHT. 

/ 

January  20th. 
THE  Morn  is  coming  ! 

A  faint  twilight  flush  mounted  the  southern  sky 
to-day  at  the  meridian  hour,  and,  although  barely  per- 
ceptible, it  was  a  cheering  sight  to  all  of  us. 

At  our  usual  Sunday  gathering,  I  read  from  Eccle- 
siastes  these  lines  :  — 

"  Truly  the  light  is  sweet,  and  a  pleasant  thing  it  is  for  the  eye  to 
l>ehold  the  sun." 

And  this  suggested  the  text  for  our  evening  con- 
versation ;  and  we  talked  long  of  the  future  and  of 
what  was  to  be  done,  with  the  coming  again  of  the 
god  of  day. 

We  all  feel  now  that  the  veil  of  night  is  lifting,  that 
the  cloud  is  passing  away,  that  the  heavy  load  of 
darkness  is  being  lightened.  The  people  have  ex- 
hausted their  means  of  amusement ;  the  newspaper 
has  died  a  natural  death ;  theatricals  are  impossible ; 
and  there  is  nothing  new  to  break  the  weariness  of 
the  long  hours. 

But  we  shall  soon  have  no  need  to  give  thought  to 
these  things.  There  will  be  ere  long  neither  time  nor 
occasion  for  amusements.  The  Arctic  night  will  soon 
be  numbered  with  the  things  of  the  past.  We  are 
eager  that  it  shall  have  an  end,  and  we  long  for  the 
day  and  work. 


THE   ARCTIC   NIGHT.  223 

And  say  what  you  will,  talk  as  you  will  of  pluck, 
and  manly  resolution,  and  mental  resources,  and  all 
that  sort  of  thing,  this  Arctic  night  is  a  severe  ordeal. 
Physically  one  can  get  through  it  well  enough.  We 
are  and  always  have  been  in  perfect  health.  I  am 
my  own  "  ship's  doctor,"  and  am  a  doctor  without  a 
patient.  Believing  in  Democritus  rather  than  Hera- 
clitus,  we  have  laughed  the  scurvy  and  all  other 
sources  of  ill-health  to  shame.  And  we  have  laughed 
at  the  scurvy  really  and  truly ;  for  if  it  does  some- 
times come  in,  like  a  thief  in  the  night,  with  salt  ra- 
tions and  insufficient  food,  which  have  not  been  our 
portion,  it  does,  too,  come  with  despondency  and  the 
splenetic  blood  of  an  unhappy  household,  from  which 
we  have  fortunately  been  exempt. 

But  if  the  Arctic  night  can  be  endured  with  little 
strain  upon  the  physical,  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  severe 
trial  both  to  the  moral  and  the  intellectual  faculties. 
The  darkness  which  so  long  clothes  Nature  unfolds  to 
the  senses  a  new  world,  and  the  senses  accommodate 
themselves  to  that  world  but  poorly.  The  cheering 
influences  of  the  rising  sun  which  invite  to  labor ;  the 
soothing  influences  of  the  evening  twilight  which  in- 
vite to  repose  ;  the  change  from  day  to  night  and  from 
night  to  day  which  lightens  the  burden  to  the  weary 
mind  and  the  aching  body,  strengthening  the  hope 
and  sustaining  the  courage,  in  the  great  life-battle  of 
the  dear  home-land,  is  withdrawn,  and  in  the  con- 
stant longing  for  Light,  Light,  the  mind  and  body, 
weary  with  the  changeless  progress  of  the  time,  fail 
to  find  Repose  where  all  is  Rest.  The  grandeur  of 
Nature  ceases  to  give  delight  to  the  dulled  sympa- 
thies. The  heart  longs  continually  for  new  associa- 
tions, new  objects,  and  new  companionships.  The 


224  THE   ARCTIC  NIGHT. 

dark  and  drear  solitude  oppresses  the  understanding ; 
the  desolation  which  everywhere  reigns  haunts  the 
imagination ;  the  silence  —  dark,  dreary,  and  pro- 
found—  becomes  a  terror. 

And  yet  there  is  in  the  Arctic  night  much  that  is 
attractive  to  the  lover  of  Nature.  There  is  in  the 
flashing  Aurora,  in  the  play  of  the  moonlight  upon 
the  hills  and  icebergs,  in  the  wonderful  clearness  of 
the  starlight,  in  the  broad  expanse  of  the  ice-fields,  in 
the  lofty  grandeur  of  the  mountains  and  the  glaciers, 
in  the  naked  fierceness  of  the  storms,  much  that  is 
both  sublime  and  beautiful.  But  they  speak  a  lan- 
guage of  their  own,  —  a  language,  rough,  rugged 
and  severe. 

Nature  is  here  exposed  on  a  gigantic  scale.  Out 
of  the  glassy  sea  the  cliffs  rear  their  dark  fronts  and 
frown  grimly  over  the  desolate  waste  of  ice-clad 
waters.  The  mountain  peaks,  glittering  in  the  clear 
cold  atmosphere,  pierce  the  very  heavens,  their  heads 
hoary  with  unnumbered  ages.  The  glaciers  pour 
their  crystal  torrents  into  the  sea  in  floods  of  immeas- 
urable magnitude.  The  very  air,  disdaining  the  gen- 
tle softness  of  other  climes,  bodies  forth  a  loftier  maj- 
esty, and  seems  to  fill  the  universe  with  a  boundless 
transparency ;  and  the  stars  pierce  it  sharply,  and  the 
moon  fills  it  with  a  cold  refulgence.  There  is  neither 
warmth  nor  coloring  underneath  this  etherial  robe  of 
night.  No  broad  window  opens  in  the  east,  no  gold 
and  crimson  curtain  falls  in  the  west,  upon  a  world 
clothed  in  blue  and  green  and  purple,  melting  into 
one  harmonious  whole,  a  tinted  cloak  of  graceful  love- 
liness. Under  the  shadow  of  the  eternal  night,  Na- 
ture needs  no  drapery  and  requires  no  adornment. 
The  glassy  sea,  the  tall  cliff,  the  lofty  mountain,  the 


THE   ARCTIC   NIGHT.  225 

majestic  glacier,  do  not  blend  one  with  the  other. 
Each  stands  forth  alone,  clothed  only  with  Solitude. 
Sable  priestess  of  the  Arctic  winter,  she  has  wrapped 
the  world  in  a  winding-sheet,  and  thrown  her  web 
and  woof  over  the  very  face  of  Nature. 

And  I  have  gone  out  often  into  the  Arctic  night, 
and  viewed  Nature  under  varied  aspects.  I  have  re- 
joiced with  her  in  her  strength,  and  communed  with 
her  in  repose.  I  have  seen  the  wild  burst  of  her 
anger,  have  watched  her  sportive  play,  and  have  be- 
held her  robed  in  silence.  I  have  walked  abroad 
in  the  darkness  when  the  winds  were  roaring  through 
the  hills  and  crashing  over  the  plain.  I  have  strolled 
along  the  beach  when  the  only  sound  that  broke  the 
stillness  was  the  dull  creaking  of  the  ice-tables,  as 
they  rose  and  fell  lazily  with  the  tide.  I  have  wan- 
dered far  out  upon  the  frozen  sea,  and  listened  to  the 
voice  of  the  icebergs  bewailing  their  imprisonment ; 
along  the  glacier,  where  forms  and  falls  the  avalanche  ; 
upon  the  hill-top,  where  the  drifting  snow,  coursing 
over  the  rocks,  sang  its  plaintive  song ;  and  again  I 
have  wandered  away  to  some  distant  valley  where  all 
these  sounds  were  hushed,  and  the  air  was  still  and 
solemn  as  the  tomb. 

And  it  is  here  that  the  Arctic  night  is  most  impres- 
sive, where  its  true  spirit  is  revealed,  where  its  won- 
ders are  unloosed  to  sport  and  play  with  the  mind's 
vague  imaginings.  The  heavens  above  and  the  earth 
beneath  reveal  only  an  endless  and  fathomless  quiet. 
There  is  nowhere  around  me  evidence  of  life  or  mo- 
tion. I  stand  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  mighty  hills. 
Their  tall  crests  climb  upward,  and  are  lost  in  the 
gray  vault  of  the  skies.  The  dark  cliffs,  standing 
against  their  slopes  of  white,  are  the  steps  of  a  vast 

15 


226  THE  ARCTIC  NIGHT. 

amphitheatre.  The  mind,  finding  no  rest  on  their 
bald  summits,  wanders  into  space.  The  moon,  weary 
with  long  vigil,  sinks  to  her  repose.  The  Pleiades  no 
longer  breathe  their  sweet  influences.  Cassiopea  and 
Andromeda  and  Orion  and  all  the  infinite  host  of 
unnumbered  constellations,  fail  to  infuse  one  spark  of 
joy  into  this  dead  atmosphere.  They  have  lost  all 
their  tenderness,  and  are  cold  and  pulseless.  The  eye 
leaves  them  and  returns  to  earth,  and  the  trembling 
ear  awaits  something  that  will  break  the  oppressive 
stillness.  But  no  footfall  of  living  thing  reaches  it ; 
no  wild  beast  howls  through  the  solitude.  There  is 
no  cry  of  bird  to  enliven  the  scene ;  no  tree,  among 
whose  branches  the  winds  can  sigh  and  moan.  The 
pulsations  of  my  own  heart  are  alone  heard  in  the 
great  void;  and  as  the  blood  courses  through  the 
sensitive  organization  of  the  ear,  I  am  oppressed  as 
with  discordant  sounds.  Silence  has  ceased  to  be 
negative.  It  has  become  endowed  with  positive  at- 
tributes. I  seem  to  hear  and  see  and  feel  it.  It 
stands  forth  as  a  frightful  spectre,  filling  the  mind 
with  the  overpowering  consciousness  of  universal 
death,  —  proclaiming  the  end  of  all  things,  and  her- 
alding the  everlasting  future.  Its  presence  is  unen- 
durable. I  spring  from  the  rock  upon  which  I  have 
been  seated,  I  plant  my  feet  heavily  in  the  snow  to 
banish  its  awful  presence,  —  and  the  sound  rolls 
through  the  night  and  drives  away  the  phantom. 

I  have  seen  no  expression  on  the  face  of  Nature  so 
filled  with  terror  as  THE  SILENCE  OF  THE  ARCTIC  NIGHT. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PROLONGED  ABSENCE  OF  MR.  SONNTAQ.  —  PREPARING  TO  LOOK  FOR  HIM. — 
ARRIVAL  OF  ESQUIMAUX.  —  THEY  REPORT  SONNTAG  DEAD.  —  ARRITAL  OF 
HANS.  — CONDITION  OF  THE  DOGS.  —  IIANS'S  STORY  OF  THE  JOURNEY. 

A  FULL  month  had  now  elapsed  since  Sonntag  and 
Hans  left  us,  and  several  days  of  the  January  moon- 
light having  passed  over  without  bringing  them  back, 
I  had  some  cause  for  alarm.  It  was  evident  that  they 
had  either  met  with  an  accident,  or  were  detained 
among  the  Esquimaux  in  some  unaccountable  man- 
ner. I  therefore  began  to  devise  means  for  determin- 
ing what  had  become  of  them.  First,  I  sent  Mr. 
Dodge  down  to  Cape  Alexander  to  pursue  the  trail 
and  ascertain  whether  they  had  gone  around  or  over 
the  cape.  The  sledge-track  was  followed  for  about 
five  miles,  when  it  came  suddenly  to  an  end,  the  ice 
having  broken  up  and  drifted  away  since  December. 
Dodge  could  now  only  examine  the  passes  of  the  gla- 
cier ;  and  finding  there  no  tracks,  it  was  evident  that 
the  party  had  gone  outside. 

My  next  concern  was  to  determine  whether  the 
tracks  reappeared  on  the  firm  ice  south  of  the  cape  ; 
and  accordingly  I  prepared  to  start  with  a  small  foot 
party,  and  cross  over  the  glacier.  In  the  event  of 
finding  tracks  below  Cape  Alexander,  my  course 
would  then  be  governed  by  circumstances  ;  but  if  the 
track  should  not  appear,  it  would  be  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  the  party  was  lost,  and  I  would  proceed 


228  ARRIVAL   OF   ESQUIMAUX. 

south  until  I  reached  the  Esquimaux,  for  I  could  no 
longer  afford  to  delay  communication  with  them. 
Although  the  temperature  had  now  fallen  to  43°  be- 
low zero,  yet  the  careful  preparations  which  I  had 
made  for  camping  relieved  the  journey  from  any  risks 
on  that  account.  The  mercury  froze  for  the  first  time 
during  the  winter  while  Dodge  was  absent,  and  I  was 
extravagant  enough  to  mould  a  bullet  of  it  and  send 
it  from  my  rifle  through  a  thick  plank.  Dodge,  who 
was  one  of  my  most  hardy  men,  returned  from  his 
twelve  hours'  tramp  complaining  that  he  had  suffered 
rather  from  heat  than  cold,  and  he  declared  that,  when 
called  upon  another  time  to  wade  so  far  through  snow- 
drifts and  hummocks,  he  would  not  carry  so  heavy  a 
load  of  furs.  In  truth,  both  he  and  his  two  compan- 
ions came  in  perspiring  freely  under  their  buffalo-skin 
coats. 

My  projected  journey  was,  however,  destined  not 
to  come  off!  The  sledge  was  loaded  with  our  light 
cargo,  and  we  were  ready  to  set  out  on  the  morning 
of  the  27th,  but  a  gale  sprung  up  suddenly  and  de- 
tained us  on  board  during  that  and  the  following  day. 
Early  in  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  wind  having 
fallen  to  calm,  we  were  preparing  to  start.  The  men 
were  putting  on  their  furs,  and  I  was  in  my  cabin 
giving  some  last  instructions  to  Mr.  McCormick,  when 
Carl,  who  had  the  watch  on  deck,  came  hastily  to  my 
door  to  report  "  Two  Esquimaux  alongside."  They 
had  come  upon  us  out  of  the  darkness  very  suddenly 
and  unobserved. 

Conjecturing  that  these  people  would  hardly  have 
visited  us  without  having  first  fallen  in  with  Sonntag 
and  Hans,  I  at  once  sent  the  interpreter  to  interro- 
gate them.  He  came  back  in  a  few  minutes.  I  in- 


SONNTAG'S  DEATH  REPORTED.       229 

quired  eagerly  if  they  brought  news  of  Mr.  Sonntag. 
"Yes."  I  had  no  need  to  inquire  further.  Jensen's 
face  told  too  plainly  the  terrible  truth,  —  Sonntag  was 
dead ! 

I  sent  Jensen  back  to  see  that  the  wants  of  our 
savage  visitors  were  carefully  provided  for,  and  to 
question  them  further.  They  prove.d  to  be  two  of  my 
old  acquaintances,  —  Ootinah,  to  whom  I  was  under 
obligations  for  important  services  in  1854,  and  a 
sprightly  fellow,  who,  having  had  his  leg  crushed  by 
a  falling  stone,  had  since  hobbled  about  on  a  wooden 
one  supplied  to  him,  in  1850,  by  the  surgeon  of  the 
North  Star,  and  which  I  had  once  repaired  for  him. 
They  both  came  on  one  sledge,  drawn  by  five  dogs, 
and  had  traveled  all  the  way  through  from  a  village, 
on  the  south  side  of  Whale  Sound,  called  Iteplik,  with- 
out a  halt.  They  had  faced  a  wind  part  of  the  way, 
and  were  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  snow  and 
frost.  Their  wants  were  soon  bountifully  supplied, 
and  they  were  not  slow  in  communicating  the  infor- 
mation which  most  interested  me.  From  them  I 
learned  that  Hans  was  on  his  way  to  the  vessel  with 
his  wife's  father  and  mother.  Some  of  his  dogs  had 
died,  and  he  was  traveling  in  slow  and  easy  stages. 
There  being  no  longer  any  occasion  for  my  southern 
journey,  the  preparations  therefor  were  discontinued. 

Hans  arrived  two  days  afterward,  and,  much  to 
our  surprise,  he  was  accompanied  only  by  his  wife's 
brother,  a  lad  whom  I  had  seen  some  months  before 
at  Cape  York ;  but  the  cause  of  this  was  soon  ex- 
plained. His  wife's  father  and  mother,  as  Ootinah 
Informed  me,  had  journeyed  with  him,  but  they,  as 
well  as  the  dogs,  had  broken  down,  and  were  left  be- 
hind, near  the  glacier,  and  Hans  had  come  on  for 


230  HAAS'S  STORY. 

assistance..  A  party  was  at  once  dispatched  to  bring1 
them  in.  Hans  being  cold  and  fatigued,  I  refrained  for 
the  time  from  questioning  him,  and  sent  the  weather- 
beaten  travelers  to  get  warmed  and  fed. 

The  two  old  people  were  found  coiled  up  in  a  cave 
dug  in  a  snow-bank,  and  were  shivering  with  the  cold. 
The  dogs  were  huddled  together  near  by,  and  not  one 
of  them  would  stir  a  step,  so  both  the  animals  and 
the  Esquimaux  were  bundled  in  a  heap  upon  our 
large  ice-sledge,  and  dragged  to  the  vessel.  The  Es- 
quimaux were  soon  revived  by  the  warmth  and  good 
cheer  of  Hans's  tent,  while  the  dogs,  only  five  in 
number,  lay  stretched  out  on  the  deck  in  an  almost 
lifeless  condition.  They  could  neither  eat  nor  move. 
And  this  was  the  remnant  of  my  once  superb  pack 
of  thirty-six,  and  this  the  result  of  a  journey  from 
which  I  had  hoped  so  much !  There  was  a  mystery 
somewhere.  What  could  it  all  mean  ?  I  quote  from 
iny  diary :  — 

February  1st. 

Hans  has  given  me  the  story  of  his  journey,  and  I 
sit  down  to  record  it  with  very  painful  emotions. 

The  travelers  rounded  Cape  Alexander  without  diffi- 
culty, finding  the  ice  solid ;  and  they  did  not  halt  until 
they  had  reached  Sutherland  Island,  where  they  built 
a  snow  hut  and  rested  for  a  few  hours.  Continuing 
thence  down  the  coast,  they  sought  the  Esquimaux  at 
Sorfalik  without  success.  The  native  hut  at  that  place 
being  in  ruins,  they  made  for  their  shelter  another 
house  of  snow ;  and,  after  being  well  rested,  they  set 
out  directly  for  Northumberland  Island,  having  con- 
cluded that  it  was  useless  to  seek  longer  for  natives 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Sound.  They  had  proceeded 
on  their  course  about  four  or  five  miles,  as  nearly  as 


HANS'S  STORY  231 

I  can  judge  from  Hans's  description,  when  Sonntag, 
growing  a  little  chilled,  sprang  off  the  sledge  and  ran 
ahead  of  the  dogs  to  warm  himself  with  the  exercise. 
The  tangling  of  a  trace  obliging  Hans  to  halt  the 
team  for  a  few  minutes,  he  fell  some  distance  behind, 
and  was  hurrying  on  to  catch  up,  when  he  suddenly 
observed  Sonntag  sinking.  He  had  come  upon  the 
thin  ice,  covering  a  recently  open  tide-crack,  and, 
probably  not  observing  his  footing,  he  stepped  upon 
it  unawares.  Hans  hastened  to  his  rescue,  and  aided 
him  out  of  the  water,  and  then  turned  back  for  the 
shelter  which  they  had  recently  abandoned.  A  light 
wind  was  blowing  at  the  time  from  the  northeast,  and 
this,  according  to  Hans,  caused  Sonntag  to  seek  the 
hut  without  stopping  to  change  his  wet  clothing.  At 
first  he  ran  beside  the  sledge,  and  thus  guarded 
against  danger ;  but  after  a  while  he  rode,  and  when 
they  halted  at  Sorfalik,  Hans  discovered  that  his  com- 
panion was  stiff  and  speechless.  Assisting  him  into 
the  hut  with  all  possible  despatch,  Hans  states  that  he 
removed  the  wet  and  frozen  clothing,  and  placed 
Sonntag  in  the  sleeping-bag.  He  next  gave  him  some 
brandy  which  he  found  in  a  flask  on  the  sledge  ;  and, 
having  tightly  closed  the  hut,  he  lighted  the  alcohol 
lamp,  for  the  double  purpose  of  elevating  the  temper- 
ature and  making  some  coffee ;  but  all  of  his  efforts 
were  unavailing,  and,  after  remaining  for  nearly  a 
day  unconscious,  Sonntag  'died.  He  did  not  speak 
after  reaching  the  hut,  and  left  no  message  of  any 
kind. 

After  closing  up  the  mouth  of  the  hut,  so  that  the 
body  might  not  be  disturbed  by  the  bears  or  foxes, 
Hans  again  set  out  southward,  and  reached  Northum- 
berland Island  without  inconvenience.  Much  to  his 


232  HANS'S   STORY. 

disappointment,  he  found  that  the  natives  had  re- 
cently abandoned  the  village  at  that  place  ;  but  he 
obtained  a  comfortable  sleep  in  a  deserted  hut,  and 
under  a  pile  of  stones  he  found  enough  walrus  flesh 
to  give  his  dogs  a  hearty  meal.  The  next  day's  jour- 
ney brought  him  to  Netlik,  which  place  wa?  also  de- 
serted ;  and  he  continued  on  up  the  Sound  some 
twenty  miles  further  to  Iteplik,  where  he  was  fortu- 
nate enough  to  find  several  families  residing,  some 
in  the  native  stone  hut  and  others  in  huts  of  snow. 
Whale  Sound  being  a  favorite  winter  resort  of  the 
seal,  the  people  had  congregated  there  for  the  time, 
and  were  living  in  the  midst  of  abundance.  Hans 
told  his  story,  and,  delighted  to  hear  of  our  being 
near  their  old  village  of  Etah,  Ootinah  and  he  of 
the  wooden  leg  put  their  two  teams  together  and 
resolved  to  accompany  Hans  when  he  set  out  to  re- 
turn. 

Meanwhile,  however,  my  hunter  had  other  projects. 
He  was  only  three  days  from  the  vessel,  and  had  he 
come  back  at  once  the  chief  purpose  of  the  journey 
would  still  have  been  accomplished;  but  instead  of 
doing  this,  he  gave  large  rewards  to  two  Esquimaux 
boys  to  go  with  his  team  down  to  Cape  York.  The 
stock  of  presents  which  Sonntag  had  taken  for  the 
Esquimaux  all  now  fell  to  Hans,  and  he  did  not  spare 
them.  And  he  vows  that  his  disposition  of  the  prop- 
erty and  the  team  was  made  in  my  interest.  "  You 
want  the  Esquimaux  to  know  you  are  here.  I  tell 
them.  They  will  come  by  and  by  and  bring  plenty 
of  dogs."  Why  did  he  not  go  himself  to  Cape  York  ? 
He  was  too  tired,  and  had,  besides,  a  frosted  toe  which 
he  got  while  attending  upon  Mr.  Sonntag. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  protestations  of  devotion 


HANS'S   STORY.  233 

to  my  affairs,  I  strongly  suspect,  however,  that  certain 
commands  were  laid  upon  him  by  the  partner  of  his 
tent  and  joys ;  and,  if  domestic  secrets  were  not  bet- 
ter kept  than  are  some  other  kinds,  I  should  probably 
discover  that  the  journey  to  Cape  York  was  made  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  bringing  up  from  that  place  the 
two  old  people  who  own  Hans  for  a  son-in-law.  So 
even  here  under  the  Pole  Star  the  daughters  of  Eve 
govern  the  destinies  of  men; 

It  was  the  old  story  of  the  borrowed  horse  over 
again.  The  journey  was  long  and  difficult ;  the  dogs 
were  over-driven  and  starved ;  and  the  party  came 
back  to  Iteplik  with  only  five  dogs  remaining  of  the 
nine  with  which  they  had  set  out.  Four  of  them  had 
broken  down,  and  were  left  to  die  by  the  way. 

February  2d. 

Ootinah  and  his  wooden-legged  companion  have  left 
us,  promising  to  return  as  soon  as  they  have  provided 
for  their  families.  They  carried  away  with  them 
many  valuable  presents,  and  if  these  do  not  tempt 
their  savage  kindred  to  the  ship,  nothing  will.  They 
will  tell  the  Esquimaux  that  I  want  dogs,  and  I  have 
charged  them  to  circulate  the  knowledge  of  the  ample 
returns  which  I  will  make  to  the  hunter  who  will  lend 
or  sell  to  me  his  team.  But  alas !  dogs  are  scarce  ; 
most  of  the  hunters  have  none  to  spare,  and  many  of 
them  are  wholly  destitute.  I  had  not  a  bribe  in  the 
ship  large  enough  to  induce  either  of  those  who  have 
left  me  to  part  with  even  one  of  their  precious  ani- 
mals. Having  discovered  this,  I  could  afford  to  be 
lavish  with  my  presents,  and  these  poor  wanderers  on 
the  ice  deserts  probably  left  me  quite  as  well  off  as  if 
they  had  sold  me  their  entire  teams.  They  plead  the 


234  HANS'S   STORY. 

hunt  and  their  families,  and  these  are  strong  argu- 
ments. Needles  and  knives,  and  iron  and  bits  of 
wood,  will  not  feed  wives  and  babies,  and  a  hundred 
arid  fifty  miles  is  a  long  way  to  carry  a  child  at  the 
breast  through  the  cold  and  storms  of  the  Arctic 
night,  even  though  it  be  to  this  haven  of  plenty.  My 
charity  was,  however,  intended  to  cover  a  double  pur- 
pose, —  to  do  them  a  substantial  service,  and  to  stim- 
ulate as  well  their  cupidity  as  that  of  the  tribe  who 
are  sure  to  flock  around  them  at  Iteplik,  to  inspect 
their  riches.  I  must  own,  however,  that  my  pros- 
pects for  obtaining  dogs  do  not  look  encouraging. 
But  few  of  the  Esquimaux  are  likely  to  come  so  far 
with  their  impoverished  teams. 

Hans  sticks  to  the  story  of  yesterday ;  and,  after 
^questioning  and  cross-questioning  him  for  an  hour,  I 
get  nothing  new.  Although  I  have  no  good  reason 
for  doubting  the  truth  of  his  narrative,  yet  I  cannot 
quite  reconcile  my  mind  to  the  fact  that  Sonntag, 
with  so  much  experience  to  govern  him,  should  have 
undertaken  to  travel  five  miles  in  wet  clothing,  espe- 
cially as  he  was  accompanied  by  a  native  hunter  who 
was  familiar  with  all  of  the  expedients  for  safety  upon 
the  ice-fields,  and  to  whom  falling  in  the  water  is  no 
imusual  circumstance.  The  sledge  and  the  canvas 
apron  which  inclosed  the  cargo  furnished  the  means 
for  constructing  a  temporary  shelter  from  the  wind, 
and  the  sleeping-bag  would  have  insured  against 
freezing  while  Hans  got  ready  the  dry  clothing,  of 
which  Sonntag  carried  a  complete  change.  Nor  can 
I  understand  how  he  should  have  lived  so  long  and 
have  given  Hans  no  message  for  me,  nor  have  spoken 
a  word  after  coming  out  of  the  water,  further  than  to 
have  ordered  his  driver  to  hasten  back  to  the  snow- 


HANS'S  STORY. 


235 


hut.  However,  it  is  idle  to  speculate  about  the  mat- 
ter ;  and  since  Hans's  interests  were  concerned  in 
proving  faithful  to  the  officer  who,  of  all  those  in  the 
ship,  cared  most  for  him,  it  would  be  unreasonable  as 
well  as  unjust  to  susuect  him  of  desertion. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

BONNTAG.  —  TWILIGHT  INCREASING.  —  A  DEER-HUNT.  —  THE  ARCTIC  FOXES.— 
THE  POLAR  BEAR.  —  ADVENTURES  WITH  BEARS. —OUR  NEW  ESQUIMAUX. 
—  ESQUIMAU  DRESS.— A  SNOW  HOUSE.  — ESQUIMAU  IMPLEMENTS.  — A  WAL- 
RUS HUNT. 

I  WILL  not  trouble  the  reader  with  the  many  gloomy 
reflections  which  I  find  scattered  over  the  pages  of 
my  journal  during  the  period  succeeding  the  events 
which  are  recorded  in  the  last  chapter.  While  the 
loss  of  my  dogs  left  me  in  much  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty as  to  my  future  prospects,  the  death  of  Mr. 
Sonntag  deprived  me  of  assistance  which  was  very 
essential  to  the  accomplishment  of  some  of  my  pur- 
poses. His  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  physical 
sciences,  and  his  earnest  enthusiasm  in  every  thing 
which  pertained  to  physical  research,  both  in  the  field 
and  study,  made  him  an  invaluable  aid,  while  his 
genial  disposition  and  manly  qualities  gave  him  a 
deep  hold  upon  my  affections.  Similarity  of  taste 
and  disposition,  equal  age,  a  common  object,  and  a 
mutual  dependence  for  companionship,  had  cemented 
more  and  more  closely  a  bond  of  friendship  which 
had  its  origin  in  the  dangers  and  fortunes  of  former 
travel. 

The  light  was  now  growing  upon  us  from  day  to 
day,  and  we  found  a  fresh  excitement  in  the  renewal 
of  the  hunt.  It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that, 
even  at  noon,  we  had  yet  any  daylight;  but  there 


A  DEER-HUNT.  237 

was  a  twilight,  which  was  increasing  with  each  suc- 
cessive day.  The  reindeer  had  grown  very  poor  dur- 
ing the  winter,  and  their  flesh  was  tough  and  almost 
tasteless ;  but  this  did  not  discourage  the  hunters,  and 
several  captures  were  made.  One  day  a  large  herd 
came  down  near  the  store-house,  which,  being  report- 
ed, caused  a  general  scramble  for  guns,  and  a  rush 
over  the  hills  to  surround  the  game.  The  crew  ap- 
peared more  like  boys  on  a  holiday  frolic  than  men 
catering  for  their  mess.  They  made  noise  enough,  as 
one  would  have  thought,  to  frighten  every  living 
thing  from  the  neighborhood ;  but,  nevertheless,  three 
deer  were  shot.  The  thermometer  stood  at  41°  below 
zero,  and,  there  being  a  light  wind,  the  air  was  some- 
what biting,  and  gave  rise  to  numerous  incidents 
quite  characteristic  of  our  life.  The  handling  of  the 
cold  gun  was  attended  with  some  risk  to  the  fingers, 
as  one  can  neither  pull  the  trigger  nor  load  with  a 
mittened  hand ;  and  there  were  quite  a  number  of 
slight  "  burns,"  as  wounds  from  this  cause  were  jest- 
ingly called.  McDonald  carried  an  old  flint-lock  mus- 
ket, the  only  weapon  that  he  could  lay  his  hands  on, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  he  was  heard  to 
fire.  Hurrying  in  that  direction,  Knorr  eagerly  in- 
quired what  he  was  shooting  at,  and  where  the  game 
had  gone.  His  answer  afterward  furnished  us  not 
a  little  amusement :  "  There  was  a  monstrous  big 
deer  there  half  an  hour  ago,  and  had  I  pulled  trigger 
when  I  left  the  ship  I  should  have  killed  him.  But 
you  see  the  powder  is  so  cold  that  it  won't  burn,  and 
it  takes  half  an  hour  to  touch  it  off; "  and,  to  prove 
his  theory,  he  poured  a  lot  of  it  out  on  the  dry  snow, 
and  applied  a  match.  His  singed  whiskers  bore  ample 
evidence  that  his  theory  was  not  founded  on  fact. 


238  THE  ARCTIC   FOXES. 

The  hill-side  seemed  to  be  alive  with  foxes ;  and, 
scenting  the  blood  of  the  dead  deer,  they  flocked  in 
from  all  directions.  These  little  animals  were  at  first 
quite  tame,  but  they  had  been  cured  of  their  famil- 
iarity by  the  lessons  learned  from  the  hunters,  and 
had  to  be  approached  with  adroitness.  Of  both  the 
blue  and  white  varieties  I  had  living  specimens  in  my 
cabin.  One  of  them  was  the  gentle  creature,  named 
Birdie,  which  I  have  already  mentioned.  The  other 
one  was  purely  white,  and  did  not  differ  from  Birdie 
in  shape,  although  it  was  somewhat  larger.  The  fur 
of  the  latter  was  much  more  coarse  than  the  former. 
Their  cry  was  exactly  the  same.  But,  while  Birdie 
was  very  docile,  and  had  grown  quite  domesticated, 
the  other  was  thoroughly  wild  and  untamable.  Their 
respective  weights  were  4|  and  7  pounds.  The  latter 
was  full  grown  and  unusually  large. 

These  two  varieties  of  the  fox,  notwithstanding 
their  many  points  of  resemblance,  are  evidently  dis- 
tinct species.  I  have  not  known  them  to  mix,  the 
coat  of  each  preserving  its  distinctive  hue,  that  of  the 
blue  fox  varying  merely  in  degree  of  shade,  while  the 
white  changes  only  from  pure  white  to  a  slightly  yel- 
lowish tinge.  The  term  "blue,"  as  applied  to  the 
species  to  which  Birdie  belonged,  is  not  wholly  a  mis- 
nomer, for,  as  seen  upon  the  snow,  its  color  gives 
something  of  that  effect.  The  color  is  in  truth  a  solid 
gray,  the  white  and  black  being  harmoniously  blended, 
and  not  mixed  as  in  the  gray  fox  of  Northern  Amer- 
ica. Their  skins  are  much  sought  after  by  the  trap- 
pers of  Southern  Greenland,  where  the  animals  are 
rare,  for  the  fur  commands  a  fabulous  price  in  the 
Copenhagen  market. 

These  foxes  obtain  a  very  precarious  subsistence, 


THE   POLAR   BEAR.  239 

and  they  may  be  seen  at  almost  any  time  scampering 
over  the  ice,  seeking  the  tracks  of  the  bears,  which 
they  follow  with  the  instinct  of  the  jackal  following 
the  lion ;  not  that  they  try  their  strength  against 
these  roving  monarchs  of  the  ice-fields,  but,  whenever 
the  bear  catches  a  seal,  the  little  fox  comes  in  for  a 
share  of  the  prey.  Their  food  consists  besides  of  an 
occasional  ptarmigan,  (the  Arctic  grouse,)  and  if  quick 
in  his  spring  he  may  be  lucky  enough  to  capture  a 
hare.  In  the  summer  they  congregate  about  the 
haunts  of  the  birds,  and  luxuriate  upon  eggs.  It  is  a 
popular  belief  in  Greenland  that  they  gather  enor- 
mous stores  of  them  for  their  winter  provender,  but 
I  have  never  witnessed  in  them  any  such  evidence  of 
foresight. 

The  bears,  wandering  continually  through  the  night, 
must  needs  have  a  hard  struggle  to  live.  During  the 
summer,  the  seal,  which  furnish  their  only  subsistence, 
crawl  up  on  the  ice,  and  are  there  easily  caught ;  but 
in  the  winter  they  only  resort  to  the  cracks  to  breathe, 
and,  in  doing  so,  barely  put  their  noses  above  the 
water,  so  that  they  are  captured  with  difficulty. 
Driven  to  desperation  by  hunger,  the  bear  will  some- 
times invade  the  haunts  of  men,  in  search  of  the  food 
which  their  quick  sense  has  detected.  Our  dogs, 
during  the  early  winter,  kept  them  from  our  vicinity  ; 
but,  when  the  dogs  were  gone,  several  bears  made 
their  appearance.  One  of  them  came  overland  from 
the  Fiord,  and  approached  the  store-house  from  be- 
hind the  observatory,  where  Starr  was  engaged  in 
reading  the  scale  of  the  magnetometer.  The  heavy 
tread  of  the  wild  beast  was  heard  through  the  still- 
ness of  the  night,  and,  without  much  regard  to  the 
delicate  organization  of  the  instrument  which  he  was 


240  ADVENTURES   WITH   BEARS. 

observing,  the  young  gentleman  rushed  for  the  door, 
upset  the  magnetometer,  and  had  nearly  lost  his  life 
in  his  precipitate  haste  to  get  over  the  dangerous  ice- 
foot,' while  hurrying  on  board  to  give  the  alarm.  We 
sallied  out  with  our  rifles  ;  but  while  Starr  was  fleeing 
in  one  direction,  the  bear  had  been  making  off  in  the 
other.  I  had  an  adventure,  about  this  time,  which, 
like  that  of  Starr's,  shows  that  the  Polar  bear  is  not 
so  ferocious  as  is  generally  supposed ;  indeed,  they 
have  never  been  known  to  attack  man  except  when 
hotly  pursued  and  driven  to  close  quarters.  Strolling 
one  day  along  the  shore,  I  was  observing  with  much 
interest  the  effect  of  the  recent  spring  tides  upon  the 
ice-foot,  when,  rounding  a  point  of  land,  I  suddenly 
found  myself  confronted  in  the  faint  moonlight  by  an 
enormous  bear.  He  had  just  sprung  down  from  the 
land-ice,  and  was  meeting  me  at  a  full  trot.  We 
caught  sight  of  each  other  at  the  same  instant.  Be- 
ing without  a  rifle  or  other  means  of  defence,  I 
wheeled  suddenly  toward  the  ship,  with,  I  fancy, 
much  the  same  reflections  about  discretion  and  valor 
as  those  which  crossed  the  mind  of  old  Jack  Falstaff 
when  the  Douglas  set  upon  him  ;  but  finding,  after  a 
few  lengthy  strides,  that  I  was  not  gobbled  up,  I  looked 
back  over  my  shoulder,  when,  as  much  to  my  surprise 
as  gratification,  I  saw  the  bear  tearing  away  toward 
the  open  water  with  a  celerity  which  left  no  doubt  as 
to  the  state  of  his  mind.  I  suppose  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  determine  which  was  the  worst  frightened  — 
the  bear  or  I. 

The  additions  to  the  Hans  family  furnished  us  as 
well  a  welcome  source  of  amusement  as  of  service. 
As  I  have  said  before,  they  were  three  in  number,  and 
bore  respectively  the  names  of  Tcheitchenguak,  Kat> 


OUR  NEW  ESQUIMAUX.  241 

lunet,  and  Angeit.  This  latter  was  the  brother  of 
Hans's  wife,  and  his  name  signifies  "  The  Catcher  "  — 
given  to  him,  no  doubt,  in  early  infancy,  from  some 
peculiarity  of  disposition  which  he  then  manifested. 
And  he  was  not  inaptly  named.  The  sailors  took 
him  into  their  favor,  scrubbed  and  combed  him,  and 
dressed  him  in  Christian  clothing,  and  under  their  en- 
couraging countenance  he  was  soon  found  to  be  as 
full  of  tricks  as  a  monkey,  and  as  acquisitive  as  a  mag- 
pie. He  was  the  special  torment  of  the  steward  and 
the  cook.  Driven  almost  to  despair,  and  utterly  de- 
feated in  every  project  of  reform,  the  former  finally  set 
at  the  little  heathen  with  a  bundle  of  tracts  and  a  cat- 
echism, while  the  latter  declared  his  fixed  resolve  to 
scald  him  on  the  first  favorable  opportunity.  "  Very 
well,  cook  ;  but  remember  they  hang  for  murder." 
"  Den  I  kills  him  a  leetle,"  was  the  ready  answer. 

His  mother,  Kablunet,  proved  to  be  a  useful  addi- 
tion to  our  household.  She  was  very  industrious  with 
her  needle ;  and,  until  she  became  possessed,  in  pay- 
ment for  her  work,  of  such  articles  of  domestic  use  as 
she  needed,  sewed  for  us  continually,  making  every 
sort  of  skin  garment,  from  boots  to  coats,  which  be- 
long to  an  Arctic  wardrobe.  Her  complexion  was 
quite  light,  as  her  name  implied.  Kablunet  is  the 
title  which  the  Esquimaux  give  to  our  race,  and  it 
signifies  "  The  child  with  the  white  skin  ; "  and  if  the 
name  of  her  husband,  Tcheitchenguak,  did  not  mean 
"  The  child  with  the  dark  skin,"  it  ought  to,  for  he 
was  almost  black. 

The  personal  appearance  of  this  interesting  couple 
was  not  peculiarly  attractive.  Their  faces  were  broad, 
jaws  heavy,  cheek-bones  projecting  like  other  carniv- 
orous animals,  foreheads  narrow,  eyes  small  and  very 

16 


242  ESQUIMAU   DRESS. 

black,  noses  flat,  lips  long  and  thin,  and  when  opened 
there  were  disclosed  two  narrow,  white,  well-preserved 
rows  of  polished  ivory,  —  well  worn,  however,  with 
long  use  and  hard  service,  for  the  teeth  of  the  Esqui- 
maux serve  a  great  variety  of  purposes,  such  as  soft- 
ening skins,  pulling  and  tightening  cords,  besides 
masticating  food,  which  I  may  here  mention  is  wholly 
animal.  Their  hair  was  jet  black,  though  not  abun- 
dant, and  the  man  had  the  largest  growth  of  beard 
which  I  have  seen  upon  an  Esquimau  face,  but  it 
was  confined  to  the  upper  lip  and  the  tip  of  the 
chin.  The  face  of  the  Esquimau  is  indeed  quite  Mon- 
golian in  its  type,  and  is  usually  beardless.  In  stat- 
ure they  are  short,  though  well  built,  and  bear,  in 
every  movement,  evidence  of  strength  and  endurance. 
The  dress  of  the  male  and  female  differed  but  little 
one  from  the  other.  It  consisted  of  nine  pieces,  —  a 
pair  of  boots,  stockings,  mittens,  pantaloons,  an  under- 
dress,  and  a  coat.  The  man  wore  boots  of  bear-skin, 
reaching  to  the  top  of  the  calf,  where  they  met  the 
pantaloons,  which  were  composed  of  the  same  mate- 
rials. The  boots  of  the  woman  reached  nearly  to  the 
middle  of  the  thigh,  and  were  made  of  tanned  seal- 
skins. Her  pantaloons,  like  her  husband's,  were  of 
bear-skin..  The  stockings  were  of  dog-skin,  and  the 
mittens  of  seal-skin.  The  under-dress  was  made  of 
bird-skins,  feathers  turned  inwards ;  and  the  coat, 
which  did  not  open  in  front,  but  was  drawn  on  over 
the  head  like  a  shirt,  was  of  blue  fox-skins.  This  coat 
terminates  in  a  hood  which  envelops  the  head  as  com- 
pletely as  an  Albanian  capote  or  a  monk's  cowl.  This 
hood  gives  the  chief  distinction  to  the  dresses  of  the 
sexes.  In  the  costume  of  the  man  it  is  round,  closely 
fitting  the  scalp,  while  in  the  woman  it  is  pointed  at 


A   SNOW  HUT.  243 

the  top  to  receive  the  hair  which  is  gathered  up  on 
the  crown  of  the  head,  and  tied  into  a  hard,  horn-like 
tuft  with  a  piece  of  raw  seal-hide,  —  a  style  of  coiffure 
which,  whatever  may  be  its  other  advantages,  cannot 
be  regarded  as  peculiarly  picturesque. 

Their  ages  could  not  be  determined ;  for,  since  the 
Esquimaux  cannot  enumerate  beyond  their  ten  fingers, 
it  is  quite  impossible  for  them  to  refer  to  a  past  event 
by  any  process  of  notation.  Having  no  written  lan- 
guage whatever,  not  even  the  picture-writing  and 
hieroglyphics  of  the  rudest  Indian  tribes  of  North 
America,  the  race  possesses  no  records,  and  such  tra- 
ditions as  may  come  down  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation are  not  fixed  by  any  means  which  will  furnish 
even  an  approximate  estimate  of  their  periods  of 
growth,  prosperity _,  and  decay,  or  even  of  their  own 
ages. 

These  old  people,  soon  growing  tired  of  the  warmth 
of  Hans's  tent,  went  ashore  and  built  a  snow  hut, 
and  set  up  housekeeping  on  their  own  account ;  -and 
living  upon  supplies  which  they  got  regularly  from 
my  abundant  stores,  and,  with  no  need  for  exertion, 
it  was  perhaps  not  surprising  that  they  should  prove 
to  be  a  very  happy  and  contented  couple.  This  snow- 
hut,  although  an  architectural  curiosity,  would  have 
excited  the  contempt  of  a  beaver.  It  was  nothing 
more  than  an  artificial  cave  in  a  snow-bank,  and  was 
made  thus  :  Right  abreast  of  the  ship  there  was  a  nar- 
row gorge,  in  which  the  wintry  winds  had  piled  the 
snow  to  a  great  depth,  leaving,  as  it  whirled  through 
the  opening,  a  sort  of  cavern,  —  the  curving  snow-bank 
on  the  right  and  overhead,  and  the  square-sided  rock 
on  the  left.  Starting  at  the  inner  side  of  this  cavern, 
Tcheitchenguak  began  to  bury  himself  in  the  snow, 


244  TCHEITCIIENGUAK  "AT  HOME." 

very  much  as  a  prairie-dog  would  do  in  the  loose  soil, 
—  digging  down  into  the  drift,  and  tossing  the  lumps 
behind  him  with  great  rapidity.  After  going  downward 
for  about  five  feet,  he  ran  off  horizontally  for  about 
ten  feet  more.  This  operation  completed,  he  now 
began  to  excavate  his  den.  His  shovel  was  struck 
into  the  hard  snow  above  his  head,  the  blocks  wrhich 
tumbled  down  were  cleared  away,  and  thrown  out 
into  the  open  air,  and  in  a  little  while  he  could  stand 
upright  and  work  ;  and  when  at  length  satisfied  with 
the  size  of  the  cave,  he  smoothed  it  off  all  around  and 
overhead,  and  came  out  covered  with  whiteness.  The 
door-way  was  now  fixed  up  and  made  just  large 
enough  to  crawl  through  on  all  fours ;  the  entering 
tunnel  was  smoothed  off  like  the  inside ;  the  floor  of' 
the  cave  was  covered  first  with  a  layer  of  stones,  and 
then  with  several  layers  of  reindeer-skins ;  the  walls 
were  hung  with  the  same  materials ;  two  native  lamps 
were  lighted ;  across  the  door-way  was  suspended 
another  deer-skin,  and  Tcheitchenguak  and  his  family 
were  "at  home."  I  called  upon  them  some  hours 
afterwards,  and  found  them  apparently  warm  and 
comfortable.  The  lamps  (their  only  fire)  blazed  up 
cheerfully,  and  the  light  glistened  on  the  white  dome 
of  this  novel  den ;  the  temperature  had  risen  to  the 
freezing  point,  and  Kablunet,  like  a  good  housewife, 
was  stitching  away  at  some  article  of  clothing ; 
Tcheitchenguak  was  repairing  a  harpoon  for  his  son- 
in-law,  and  Angeit,  the  bright-eyed  pest  of  the  galley 
and  the  pantry,  was  busily  engaged  stowing  away  in  a 
stomach  largely  disproportionate  to  the  balance  of  his 
body,  some  bits  of  venison  which  looked  very  much  as 
as  if  they  had  recently  been  surreptitiously  obtained 
from  a  forbidden  corner  of  the  steward's  store-room. 


ESQUIMAU  PRESENTS.  245 

In  consideration  for  the  kindness  which  I  had  shown 
these  people,  they  gave  me  a  set  of  their  hunting  and 
domestic  implements,  the  principal  of  them  being  a 
lance,  harpoon,  coil  of  line,  a  rabbit-trap,  a  lamp,  pot, 
flint  and  steel,  with  some  lamp-wick  and  tinder.  The 
lance  was  a  wooden  shaft,  probably  from  Dr.  Kane's 
lost  ship,  the  Advance,  with  an  iron  spike  lashed  firmly 
to  one  end  of  it,  and  a  piece  of  walrus  tusk,  shod  with 
sharp  iron,  at  the  other.  The  harpoon  staff  was  a 
narwal  tooth  or  horn,  six  feet  long,  —  a  very  hard 
and  solid  piece  of  ivory,  and  perfectly  straight.  The 
harpoon  head  was  a  piece  of  walrus  tusk,  three  inches 
long,  with  a  hole  through  the  centre  for  the  line,  a 
hole  into  one  end  for  the  sharpened  point  of  the  staff, 
and  at  the  other  end  it  was,  like  the  lance-head,  tipped 
with  iron.  The  line  was  simply  a  strip  of  raw  seal- 
hide  about  fifty  feet  long,  and  was  made  by  a  contin- 
uous cut  around  the  body  of  the  seal.  The  rabbit- 
trap  was  merely  a  seal-skin  line  with  a  multitude  of 
loops  dangling  from  it.  The  lamp  was  a  shallow  dish 
of  soft  soap-stone,  in  shape  not  unlike  a  clam-shell, 
and  was  eight  inches  by  six.  The  pot  was  a  square- 
sided  vessel  of  the  same  material.  The  flint  was  a 
piece  of  hard  granite,  the  steel  a  lump  of  crude  iron 
pyrites,  the  wick  was  dried  moss,  and  the  tinder  the 
delicate  down-like  covering  of  the  willow  catkins. 

Tcheitchenguak  told  me  that  he  was  preparing  the 
lances  for  a  walrus  hunt,  and  that  he  and  Hans  in- 
tended to  try  their  skill  on  the  morrow.  The  walrus 
had  been  very  numerous  in  the  open  waters  outside 
the  harbor  all  through  the  winter,  and  their  shrill  cry 
could  be  heard  at  almost  any  time  from  the  margin 
of  the  ice.  The  flesh  of  these  animals  is  the  staple 
food  of  the  Esquimaux ;  and  although  they  prize  the 


246  A  WALRUS  HUNT. 

flesh  of  the  reindeer,  yet  it  is  much  as  we  do  "  canvas- 
backs  ;  "  and,  for  a  long  and  steady  pull,  there  is  noth- 
ing like  the  "  Awak,"  as  they  call  the  walrus,  in  imi- 
tation of  its  cry.  To  them  its  flesh  is  what  rice  is  to 
the  Hindoo,  beef  to  the  Gouchos  of  Buenos  Ayres,  or 
mutton  to  the  Tartars  of  Mongolia. 

The  proposed  hunt  came  off  successfully.  Hans 
and  the  old  man  set  out  with  all  of  their  tackle  in  fine 
order,  and  found  a  numerous  herd  of  walrus  swim- 
ming near  the  edge  of  the  ice.  They  were  approached 
with  caution,  on  all  fours,  and  were  not  alarmed.  The 
hunters  reached  within  a  few  feet  of  the  water.  They 
both  then  lay  down  flat  on  the  ice  and  imitated  the 
cry  of  the  animals  of  which  they  were  in  pursuit; 
and  the  whole  herd  was  soon  brought  by  this  means 
within  easy  reach  of  the  harpoon.  Rising  suddenly, 
Hans  buried  his  weapon  in  a  good-sized  beast,  while  his 
companion  held  fast  to  the  line  and  secured  his  end 
of  it  with  the  iron  spike  of  a  lance-staff,  which  he 
drove  into  the  ice  and  held  down  firmly.  The  beast 
struggled  hard  to  free  itself,  floundering  and  plung- 
ing like  a  wild  bull  held  by  a  lasso,  but  all  without 
avail.  With  every  opportunity  Hans  took  in  the  slack 
of  the  line  and  secured  it,  and  at  length  the  strug- 
gling prey  was  within  twenty  feet  of  the  hunters. 
The  lance  and  rifle  now  did  their  work  very  expedi- 
tiously  ;  the  frightened  comrades  of  the  dying  animal 
rushed  away  through  the  waters  with  loud  cries  of 
alarm,  their  deep  bass  voices  sounding  strangely 
through  the  darkness.  The  edge  of  the  ice  proved 
to  be  too  thin  to  bear  the  captured  game,  and,  having 
secured  it  with  a  line,  it  was  allowed  to  remain  until 
the  following  day,  when,  the  ice  having  thickened 
with  the  low  temperature,  the  flesh  was  chopped  out 


A   SEASON   OF  PLENTY. 


247 


and  brought  in.  The  snow-hut  now  rejoiced  in  a  sup- 
ply of  food  and  blubber  sufficient  to  last  its  inmates 
for  a  long  time  to  come ;  the  dogs  were  refreshed 
with  a  substantial  meal ;  and  the  head  and  skin  were 
put  into  a  barrel  and  labeled  "  Smithsonian." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

LOOKING  FOR  THE  SUN.  — THE  OPEN  SEA.  — BIRDS. 

WHILE  the  days  were  thus  running  on,  the  sun  was 
crawling  up  toward  the  horizon,  and  each  returning 
noon  brought  an  increase  of  light.  I  carried  in  my 
pocket  at  all  times  a  little  book,  and  early  in  Febru- 
ary I  began  to  experiment  with  it.  When  I  could 
read  the  title-page  at  noon  I  was  much  rejoiced.  By 
and  by  the  smaller  letters  could  be  puzzled  out ;  then 
I  could  decipher  with  ease  the  finest  print,  and  the 
youngsters  were  in  great  glee  at  being  able  to  read 
the  thermometers  at  eleven  and  twelve  and  one 
o'clock  without  the  lantern.  On  the  10th  of  Feb- 
ruary I  made  the  following  memorandum  on  the  mar- 
gin of  my  book :  "  Almost  broad  daylight  at  noon, 
and  I  read  this  page  at  3  o'clock  P.  M."  My  calcula- 
tions placed  the  sun  at  the  horizon  on  the  18th. 

The  appearance  of  the  sun  became  now  the  one 
absorbing  event.  About  it  everybody  thought  and 
everybody  talked  continually.  No  set  of  men  ever 
looked  more  eagerly  for  a  coming  joy  than  did  we  for 
the  promised  morn,  —  we,  half-bloodless  beings,  com- 
ing from  the  night,  bleached  in  the  long-continued 
lamp-light,  and  almost  as  colorless  as  potato-sprouts 
growing  in  a  dark  cellar.  We  all  noted  how  to-day 
compared  with  yesterday,  and  contrasted  it  with  this 
day  a  week  ago.  Even  the  old  cook  caught  the  con- 


LOOKING  FOR  THE  SUN.  249 

tagion,  and  crawled  up  from  among  his  saucepans  and 
coppers,  and,  shading  his  eyes  with  his  stove-hardened 
hands,  peered  out  into  the  growing  twilight.  "  I  tinks 
dis  be  very  long  night,"  said  he,  "  and  I  likes  once 
more  to  see  de  blessed  sun."  The  steward  was  in  a 
state  of  chronic  excitement.  He  could  not  let  the 
sun  rest  in  peace  for  an  hour.  He  must  watch  for 
him  constantly.  He  must  be  forever  running  up  on 
deck  and  out  on  the  ice,  book  in  hand,  trying  to  read 
by  the  returning  daylight.  He  was  impatient  with 
the  time.  "  Don't  the  Commander  think  the  sun  will 
come  back  sooner  than  the  18th?"  "Don't  he  think 
it  will  come  back  on  the  17th?"  "Was  he  quite  sure 
that  it  would  n't  appear  on  the  16th?"  "I'm  afraid, 
steward,  we  must  rely  upon  the  Nautical  Almanac." 
"  But  might  n't  the  Nautical  Almanac  be  wrong  ? " 
—  and  I  could  clearly  perceive  that  he  thought  my 
ciphering  might  be  wrong  too. 

Meanwhile  we  were  tormented  with  another  set  of 
gales,  and  we  could  scarcely  stir  abroad.  The  ice  was 
all  broken  up  in  the  outer  bay,  and  the  open  sea  came 
nearer  to  us  than  during  any  previous  period  of  the 
winter.  The  ice  was  nearly  all  driven  out  of  the  bay, 
and  the  broad,  dark,  bounding  water  was  not  only  in 
sight  from  the  deck,  but  I  could  almost  drop  a  minie- 
ball  into  it  from  my  rifle,  while  standing  on  the  poop. 
Even  the  ice  in  the  inner  harbor  was  loosened  around 
the  shore,  and,  thick  and  solid  though  it  was,  I  thought 
at  one  time  that  there  was  danger  of  its  giving  way 
and  going  bodily  out  to  sea. 

Strange,  too,  along  the  margin  of  this  water  there 
came  a  flock  of  speckled  birds  to  shelter  themselves 
under  the  lee  of  the  shore,  and  to  warm  their  lit- 
tle feet  in  the  waters  which  the  winds  would  not  let 


250  ARCTIC  BIRDS. 

freeze.  They  were  the  Dovekie  of  Southern  Green- 
land, —  the  Uria  grylle  of  the  naturalist.  They  are 
often  seen  about  Disco  Island  and  Upernavik  in  the 
winter  time,  but  I  was  much  surprised  to  find  them 
denizens  of  the  Arctic  night  so  near  the  Pole.  It  was 
a  singular  sight  to  see  them  paddling  about  in  the 
caves,  under  the  ice-foot,  at  30°  below  zero,  uttering 
their  plaintive  cry,  and  looking  for  all  the  world  like 
homeless  children,  shoeless  and  in  rags,  crouching  for 
shelter  beneath  a  door-stoop  on  a  bleak  December 
night.  I  wanted  one  of  them  badly  for  a  specimen, 
but  it  would  have  required  something  stronger  than 
the  claims  of  science  to  have  induced  me  to  harm  a 
feather  of  their  trembling  little  heads. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SUNRISE. 

February  18th. 

HEAVEN  be  praised !  I  have  once  more  seen  the 
sun. 

Knowing  that  the  sun  would  appear  to-day,  every- 
body was  filled  with  expectation,  and  hastened  off 
after  breakfast  to  some  favorite  spot  where  it  was 
thought  that  he  might  be  seen.  Some  went  in  the 
right  direction,  and  were  gratified  ;  others  went  in 
the  wrong  direction,  and  were  disappointed.  Knorr 
and  others  of  the  officers  climbed  the  hills  above  Etah. 
Charley  limbered  up  his  rheumatic  old  legs,  and  tried 
to  get  a  view  from  the  north  side  of  the  harbor,  for- 
getting that  the  mountains  intervened.  Harris  and 
Heywood  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  hill  behind  the 
harbor,  and  the  former  shook  his  Odd  Fellow's  flag 
in  the  sun's  very  face.  The  cook  was  troubled  that 
he  did  not  have  a  look  at  "  de  blessed  sun ; "  but  he 
could  not  gratify  his  wish  without  going  upon  the 
land,  and  this  he  could  no  more  be  induced  to  do 
than  the  mountain  could  be  persuaded  to  come  to 
Mahomet.  He  will  probably  have  to  wait  until  the 
sun  steals  over  the  hills  into  the  harbor,  which  will 
be  at  least  twelve  days. 

My  own  share  in  the  day's  excitement  has  been 
equal  to  the  rest  of  them.  Accompanied  by  Dodge 


252  SI.NRISE. 

and  Jensen,  T  set  out  at  an  early  hour  toward  a  point 
on  the  north  side  of  the  bay,  from  which  I  could  com- 
mand a  view  of  the  southern  horizon.  We  had  much 
difficulty  in  reaching  our  destination.  The  open 
water  came  nearly  a  mile  within  the  point  for  which 
we  were  bound,  and  it  was  no  easy  task  picking  our 
way  along  the  sloping  drifts  of  the  ice-foot.  But  we 
were  at  last  successful,  and  reached  our  look-out  sta- 
tion (hereafter  to  be  known  as  Sunrise  Point)  with 
half  an  hour  to  spare. 

The  day  was  far  from  a  pleasant  one  for  a  holiday 
excursion.  The  temperature  was  very  low,  and  the 
wind,  blowing  quite  freshly,  brought  the  drifting  snow 
down  from  the  mountains,  and  rattled  it  about  us 
rather  sharply.  But  we  were  amply  repaid  by  the 
view  which  was  spread  out  before  us. 

An  open  sea  lay  at  our  feet  and  stretched  far  away 
to  the  front  and  right  of  us  as  we  faced  the  south. 
Numerous  bergs  were  dotted  over  it,  but  otherwise  it 
was  mainly  free  from  ice.  Its  surface  was  much  agi- 
tated by  the  winds,  which  kept  it  from  freezing,  and 
the  waves  were  dancing  in  the  cold  air  as  if  in  very 

o  * 

mockery  of  the  winter.  It  was  indeed  a  vast  bubbling 
caldron,  —  seething,  and  foaming,  and  emitting  vapors. 
The  light  curling  streams  of  "frost  smoke"  which 
rose  over  it  sailed  away  on  the  wind  toward  the 
southwest,  and  there  mingled  with  a  dark  mist-bank. 
Little  streams  of  young  ice,  as  if  struggling  to  bind 
the  waves,  rattled  and  crackled  over  the  restless 
waters.  To  the  left,  the  lofty  coast  mountains  stood 
boldly  up  in  the  bright  air,  and  near  Cape  Alexander 
the  glacier  peeped  from  between  them,  coming  down 
the  valley  with  a  gentle  slope  from  the  broad  mer  de 
glace.  The  bold  front  of  Crystal  Palace  Cliffs  cut 


SUNRISE.  253 

sharply  against  this  line  of  whiteness,  and  the  dark, 
gloomy  walls  of  Cape  Alexander  rose  squarely  from 
the  sea.  Upon  the  crests  of  the  silent  hills,  and  over 
the  white-capped  cape,  light  clouds  lazily  floated,  and 
through  these  the  sun  was  pouring  a  stream  of  golden 
fire,  and  the  whole  southern  heavens  were  ablaze  with 
the  splendor  of  the  coming  day. 

The  point  of  Cape  Alexander  lay  directly  south  of 
us,  and  the  sun  would  appear  from  behind  it  at  ex- 
actly the  meridian  hour,  —  rolling  along  the  horizon, 
with  only  half  its  disk  above  the  line  of  waters.  We 
awaited  the  approaching  moment  with  much  eager- 
ness. Presently  a  ray  of  light  burst  through  the  soft 
mist-clouds  which  lay  off  to  the  right  of  us  opposite 
the  cape,  blending  them  into  a  purple  sea  and  glis- 
tening upon  the  silvery  summits  of  the  tall  icebergs, 
which  pierced  the  vapory  cloak  as  if  to  catch  the 
coming  warmth.  The  ray  approached  us  nearer  and 
nearer,  the  purple  sea  widened,  the  glittering  spires 
multiplied,  as  one  after  another  they  burst  in  quick 
succession  into  the  blaze  of  day  ;  and  as  this  marvelous 
change  came  over  the  face  of  the  sea,  we  felt  that  the 
shadow  of  the  cape  was  the  shadow  of  the  night,  and 
that  the  night  was  passing  away.  Soon  the  dark-red 
cliffs  behind  us  glowed  with  a  warm  coloring,  the  hills 
and  the  mountains  stood  forth  in  their  new  robes  of 
resplendent  brightness,  and  the  tumbling  waves  melt- 
ed away  from  their  angry  harshness,  and .  laughed  in 
the  sunshine.  And  now  the  line  of  the  shadow  was 
in  sight.  "  There  it  is  upon  the  point,"  cried  Jensen. 
"  There  it  is  upon  the  ice-foot,"  answered  Dodge,  — 
there  at  our  feet  lay  a  sheet  of  sparkling  gems,  and 
the  sun  burst  broadly  in  our  faces.  Off  went  our 
;aps  with  a  simultaneous  impulse,  and  we  hailed  this 


254  SUNRISE. 

long-lost  wanderer  of  the  heavens  with  loud  demon- 
strations of  joy. 

And  now  we  were  bathing  in  the  atmosphere  of 
other  days.  The  friend  of  all  hopeful  associations  had 
come  back  again  to  put  a  new  glow  into  our  hearts. 
He  had  returned  after  an  absence  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  days  to  revive  a  slumbering  world  ;  and  as 
I  looked  upon  his  face  again,  after  this  long  interval, 
1  did  not  wonder  that  there  should  be  men  to  bow  the 
knee  and  worship  him  and  proclaim  him  "  The  eye  of 
God."  The  parent  of  light  and  life  everywhere,  he  is 
the  same  within  these  solitudes.  The  germ  awaits 
him  here  as  in  the  Orient ;  but  there  it  rests  only 
through  the  short  hours  of  a  summer  night,  while 
here  it  reposes  for  months  under  a  sheet  of  snows. 
But  after  a  while  the  bright  sun  will  tear  this  sheet 
asunder,  and  will  tumble  it  in  gushing  fountains  to 
the  sea,  and  will  kiss  the  cold  earth,  and  give  it 
warmth  and  life ;  and  the  flowers  will  bud  and  bloom, 
and  will  turn  their  tiny  faces  smilingly  and  gratefully 
up  to  him,  as  he  wanders  over  these  ancient  hills 
in  the  long  summer.  The  very  glaciers  will  weep 
tears  of  joy  at  his  coming.  The  ice  will  loose  its 
iron  grip  upon  the  waters,  and  will  let  the  wild  waves 
play  in  freedom.  The  reindeer  will  skip  gleefully 
over  the  mountains  to  welcome  his  return,  and  will 
look  longingly  to  him  for  the  green  pastures.  The 
sea-fowls,  knowing  that  he  will  give  them  a  resting- 
place  for  their  feet  on  the  rocky  islands,  will  come  to 
seek  the  moss-beds  which  he  spreads  for  their  nests ; 
and  the  sparrows  will  come  on  his  life-giving  rays,  and 
will  sing  their  love  songs  through  the  endless  day. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SPRING  TWILIGHT.— ARRIVAL  OP  ESQUIMAUX.  —  OBTAINING  DOGS.  —  KALUTU- 
NAH,  TATTARAT,  MYOUK,  AMALATOK  AND  HIS  SON.  — AN  ARCTIC  HOSPI- 
TAL. —  ESQUIMAU  GRATITUDE. 

MY  time  became  now  fully  occupied  with  prepara- 
tions for  my  journey  northward.  The  sun  appearing 
on  the  18th,  as  recorded  in  the  last  chapter,  rose  com- 
pletely above  the  horizon  on  the  next  day,  was  some- 
thing higher  the  day  following,  and,  continuing  to 
ascend  in  steady  progression,  we  had  soon  several 
hours  of  broad  daylight  before  and  after  noon,  al- 
though the  sun  did  not  for  some  time  come  in  sight 
above  the  hills  on  the  south  side  of  the  harbor.  The 
long  dreary  night  was  passing  away;  we  had  with 
each  succeeding  day  an  increase  of  light,  and  the 
spring  twilight  was  merging  slowly  into  the  continual 
sunshine  of  the  summer,  as  we  had  before  seen  the 
autumn  twilight  pass  into  the  continued  darkness  of 
the  winter. 

The  details  of  my  preparations  for  traveling  would 
have  little  interest  to  the  reader,  and  I  pass  them 
over.  It  is  proper,  however,  that  I  should  recur  to 
the  situation  in  which  I  found  myself,  now  that  the 
traveling  season  had  opened. 

The  dogs,  five  in  number,  which  Hans  brought  back 
from  the  southern  journey,  had  recovered,  and  did  not 
appear  to  have  been  materially  injured ;  but  there 
were  not  enough  of  them  to  furnish  a  serviceable 


256  AERIVAL  OF  ESQUIMAUX. 

team  for  one  sledge.  They  were  therefore  of  little 
use ;  and  it  became  clear  that,  unless  I  obtained  a 
fresh  supply  from  the  Esquimaux,  any  plan  of  sledge 
exploration  which  I  might  form  must  depend  wholly 
upon  the  men  for  its  execution.  Men,  instead  of  dogs, 
must  drag  the  sledges. 

The  Esquimaux  had  disappointed  me  by  not  com- 
ing up  to  Etah ;  and,  February  having  almost  passed 
away  without  bringing  reinforcements  from  that  quar- 
ter, I  had  quite  given  up  the  expectation  of  seeing 
them,  when  a  party  of  three  arrived  most  oppor- 
tunely. This  gave  me  new  encouragement;  for,  al- 
though I  could  not  hope  to  replace  the  fine  teams 
which  I  had  lost,  yet  there  was  still  a  prospect  of 
some  much-needed  assistance. 

The  Esquimau  party  comprised  three  individuals, 
all  of  whom  I  had  known  before.  Their  names  were 
Kalutunah,  Tattarat,  and  Myouk.  Kalutunah  was,  in 
1854,  the  best  hunter  of  the  tribe,  and  was,  besides, 
the  Angekok,  or  priest.  He  was  not  slow  to  tell  me 
that  he  had  since  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  chief,  or 
Nalegak,  an  office  which,  however,  gave  him  no  au- 
thority, as  the  Esquimaux  are  each  a  law  unto  him- 
self, and  they  submit  to  no  control.  The  title  is 
about  as  vague  as  that  of  "  Defender  of  the  Faith ; " 
and  the  parallel  is  not  altogether  bad,  for  if  this  latter 
did  originate  in  a  Latin  treatise  about  the  "  Seven 
Sacraments,"  it  was  perpetuated  by  a  sharp  sword  ; 
and  so  the  title  chief,  or  Nalegak  as  they  call  it,  is  the 
compliment  paid  to  the  most  skillful  hunter,  and  his 
title  is  perpetuated  by  skill  in  the  use  of  a  sharp  har- 
poon. 

The  excellence  of  Kalutunah's  hunting  equipments 
—  his  strong  lines  and  lances  and  harpoons,  his  fine 


ESQUIMAU  TEAMS.  257 

sledge  and  hearty,  sleek  dogs  —  bore  ample  evidence 
of  the  sagacity  of  the  tribe.  Tattarat  was  a  very  dif- 
ferent style  of  person.  His  name  signifies  "  The  Kitti- 
wake  Gull,"  and  a  more  fitting  title  could  hardly  have 
been  bestowed  upon  him,  for  he  was  the  perfect  type 
of  that  noisy,  chattering,  graceful  bird,  thriftless  to 
the  last  degree ;  and,  like  many  another  kittiwake 
gull  or  Harold  Skimpole  of  society,  he  was,  in  spite 
of  thieving  and  other  arts,  always  "  out  at  elbows." 
Myouk  was  not  unlike  him,  only  that  he  was  worse, 
if  possible.  He  was,  in  truth,  one  of  Satan's  regularly 
enlisted  light-infantry,  and  was  as  full  of  tricks  as 
Asmodeus  himself. 

The  party  came  up  on  two  sledges.  Kalutunah 
drove  one  and  Tattarat  the  other.  Kalutunah's  team 
was  his  own.  Of  the  other  team,  two  dogs  belonged 
to  Tattarat,  one  was  borrowed,  and  the  fourth  was  the 
property  of  Myouk.  It  is  curious  to  observe  how  the 
same  traits  of  character  exhibit  themselves  in  all  peo- 
ples, and  by  the  same  evidences.  While  Kalutunah 
came  in  with  his  dogs  looking  fresh  and  in  fine  condi- 
tion, with  strong  traces  and  solid  sledge,  the  team  of 
Tattarat  were  a  set  of  as  lean  and  hungry-looking  curs 
as  ever  was  seen,  their  traces  all  knotted  and  tangled, 
and  the  sledge  rickety  and  almost  tumbling  to  pieces. ' 
They  had  traveled  all  the  way  from  Iteplik  without 
halting,  except  for  a  short  rest  at  Sorfalik.  They 
declared  that  they  had  not  tasted  food  since  leaving 
their  homes ;  and  if  the  appetite  should  govern  the 
belief,  I  thought  that  there  were  no  grounds  for  doubt- 
ing, since  they  made  away  with  the  best  part  of  a 
quarter  of  venison,  the  swallowing  of  which  was  much 
aided  by  sundry  chunks  of  walrus  blubber,  before 

17 


258  KALUTUNAH. 

they  rolled  over  among  the  reindeer  skins  of  Tchei- 
tchenguak's  hut  and  slept. 

Next  morning  I  had  Kalutuuah  brought  to  my 
cabin,  thinking  to  treat  him  with  that  distinguished 
consideration  due  to  his  exalted  rank.  But  caution 
was  necessary.  For  a  stool  I  gave  him  a  keg,  and  I  was 
particularly  careful  that  his  person  should  not  come  in 
contact  with  any  thing  else,  for  under  the  ample  furs  of 
this  renowned  chief  there  were  roaming  great  droves 
of  creeping  things,  for  which  no  learned  lexicographer 
has  yet  invented  a  polite  name,  and  so  I  cannot  fur- 
ther describe  them.  Nor  can  I  adequately  describe 
the  man  himself,  as  he  sat  upon  the  keg,  his  body 
hidden  in  a  huge  fur  coat,  with  its  great  hood,  and  his 
legs  and  feet  inserted  in  long-haired  bear-skin,  —  the 
whole  costume  differing  little  from  the  hitherto  de- 
scribed dress  of  the  dark-faced  Tcheitchenguak.  He 
was  a  study  for  a  painter.  No  child  could  have  ex- 
hibited more  unbounded  delight,  had  all  the  toys  of 
Nuremberg  been  tumbled  into  one  heap  before  him. 
To  picture  his  face  with  any  thing  short  of  a  skillful 
brush  were  an  impossible  task.  It  was  not  comely 
like  that  of  "  Villiers  with  the  flaxen  hair,"  nor  yet 
handsome  like  that  of  the  warrior  chief  Nireus,  whom 
Homer  celebrates  as  the  handsomest  man  in  the  whole 
Greek  army,  (and  never  mentions  afterwards,)  nor 
was  it  like  Ossian's  chief,  "  the  changes  of  whose  face 
were  as  various  as  the  shadows  which  fly  over  the 
field  of,  grass ;  "  but  it  was  bathed  in  the  sunshine  of 
a  broad  grin.  Altogether  it  was  quite  characteris- 
tic of  his  race,  although  expressing  a  much  higher 
type  of  manhood  than  usual.  The  features  differed 
only  in  degree  from  those  of  Tcheitchenguak,  hereto- 
fore described ;  the  skin  was  less  dark,  the  face 


A  DIRTY  POTENTATE.  250 

broader,  the  cheek-bones  higher,  the  nose  flatter  and 
more  curved,  the  upper  lip  longer,  the  mouth  wider, 
the  eyes  even  smaller,  contracting  when  he  laughed 
into  scarcely  distinguishable  slits.  Upon  his  long 
upper  lip  grew  a  little  hedge-row  of  black  bristles, 
which  did  not  curl  gracefully  nor  droop  languidly,  but 
which  stuck  straight  out  like  the  whiskers  of  a  cat. 
A  few  of  the  same  sort  radiated  from  his  chin.  I 
judged  him  to  be  about  forty  years  old,  and  since 
soap  and  towels  and  the  external  application  of  water 
have  not  yet  been  introduced  among  the  native  inhab- 
itants of  Whale  Sound,  these  forty  years  had  favored 
the  accumulation  of  a  coating  to  the  skin,  which,  by 
the  unequal  operation  of  friction,  had  given  his  hands 
and  face  quite  a  spotted  appearance. 

But  if  he  was  not  handsome,  he  was  not  really 
ugly ;  for,  despite  his  coarse  features  and  dirty  face, 
there  was  a  rugged  sort  of  good-humor  and  frank  sim- 
plicity about  the  fellow  which  pleased  me  greatly. 
His  tongue  was  not  inclined  to  rest.  He  must  tell  me 
every  thing.  His  wife  was  still  living,  and  had  added 
two  girls  to  the  amount  of  his  responsibilities  ;  but 
his  face  glowed  with  delight  when  I  asked  him  about 
their  first-born,  whom  I  remembered  in  1854  as  a 
bright  boy  of  some  five  or  six  summers,  and  he  ex- 
hibited all  of  a  father's  just  pride  in  the  prospect  of 
the  lad's  future  greatness.  Already  he  could  catch 
birds,  and  was  learning  to  drive  dogs. 

I  asked  him  about  his  old  rival  Sipsu,  who  once 
gave  me  much  trouble,  and  was  an  endless  source  of 
inconvenience  to  Kalutunah.  He  was  dead.  When 
asked  how  he  died,  he  was  a  little  loath  to  tell,  but  he 
finally  said  that  he  had  been  killed.  He  had  become 
very  unpopular,  and  was  stabbed  one  night  in  a  dark 


2GO  A.  PRIMITIVE   TREATY. 

hut,  and,  bleeding  from  a  mortal  wound,  had  been 
dragged  out  and  buried  in  the  stones  and  snow,  where 
the  cold  and  ,he  hurt  together  soon  terminated  as 
well  his  life  as  his  mischief. 

Death  had  made  fearful  ravages  among  his  people 
since  I  had  seen  them  five  years  before,  and  he  com- 
plained bitterly  of  the  hardships  of  the  last  winter,  in 
consequence  of  a  great  deficiency  of  dogs,  the  same 
distemper  which  swept  mine  off'  having  attacked  those 
of  his  people.  Indeed,  the  disease  appears  to  have 
been  universal  throughout  the  entire  length  of  Green- 
land. But  notwithstanding  this  poverty,  he  under- 
took to  supply  me  with  some  animals,  in  return  for 
which  I  was  to  make  liberal  presents ;  and,  as  a  proof 
of  his  sincerity,  he  offered  me  two  of  the  four  which 
composed  his  present  team.  From  Tattarat  I  after- 
wards purchased  one  of  his  three,  and  for  a  fine  knife 
I  obtained  the  fourth  one  of  that  hunter's  team,  the 
property  of  Myouk,  and  the  only  dog  that  he  pos- 
sessed. 

The  hunters  were  all  well  pleased  with  their  bar- 
gains, for  they  went  away  rich  in  iron,  knives,  and 
needles,  —  wealth  to  them  more  valuable  than  would 
have  been  all  the  vast  piles  of  treasure  with  which 
the  Inca  Atahuallpa  sought  to  satisfy  the  rapacious 
Pizarro,  or  the  lacs  of  rupees  with  which  the  luck- 
less Rajah  Nuncomar  strove  to  free  himself  from  the 
clutches  of  the  remorseless  Hastings.  And  we  had 
made  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship,  and  had  rati- 
fied it  by  a  solemn  promise,  befitting  a  Nalegak  and  a 
Nalegaksoak.  The  Nalegak  was  to  furnish  the  Nale- 
gaksoak  with  dogs,  and  the  Nalegaksoak  was  to  pay 
for  them.  This  exceedingly  simple  treaty  may  at 
first  strike  the  reader  with  surprise ;  but  I  feel  sure 


OBTAINING  DOGS.  261 

that  that  surprise  will  vanish  when  he  recalls  the 
memorable  historical  parallel  of  Burgoyne  and  his 
Hessians. 

I  did  not  tell  Kalutunah  that  I  wished  only  to  be- 
stow benefits  upon  his  people,  for  no  one  is  more 
quick  to  penetrate  the  hollowness  of  such  declarations 
than  the  "untutored  savage."  He  is  not  so  easily 
hoaxed  with  philanthropic  sentiment  as  is  generally 
supposed,  and  he  fully  recognizes  the  practical  fea- 
tures of  being  expected  to  return  a  quid  pro  quo.  But 
I  did  venture  upon  a  little  harmless  imposition  of 
another  sort,  giving  him  to  understand  that  it  was 
useless  for  the  Esquimaux  to  attempt  to  deceive  me, 
as  I  could  read  not  only  their  acts  but  their  thoughts 
as  well ;  and,  in  proof  of  my  powers,  I  performed  be- 
fore him  some  simple  sleightrof-hand  tricks,  and  after 
turning  up  a  card  with  much  gravity  told  him  exactly 
what  (it  was  not  much  of  a  venture)  Ootinah  and  his 
wooden-legged  companion  had  stolen.  He  was  much 
astonished,  said  that  I  was  quite  right  about  the  steal- 
ing, for  he  had  seen  the  stolen  articles  himself,  and 
evidently  thought  me  a  wonderful  magician.  He 
owned  to  me  that  he  did  something  in  the  jugglery 
business  himself;  but  when  I  asked  him  about  his 
journeys  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  in  his  Angekok 
capacity,  to  break  the  spell  by  which  the  evil  spirit 
Torngak  holds  within  her  anger  the  walrus  and  seal,* 
in  the  days  of  famine,  he  very  adroitly  changed  the 
subject,  and  began  to  describe  a  recent  bear-hunt 
which  appeared  to  amuse  him  greatly.  The  wounded 
animal  broke  away  from  the  dogs,  and,  making  a  dive 
at  one  of  the  hunters,  knocked  the  wind  out  of  the 
unhappy  man  with  a  blow  of  his  fore-paw.  Kalutunah 
laughed  heartily  while  relating  the  story,  and  seemed 
to  think  it  a  capital  joke. 


262  AN  ARCTIC  MICAWBER. 

Our  savage  guests  remained  with  us  a  few  days, 
and  then  set  out  for  their  homes,  declaring  their  in- 
tention to  come  speedily  back  and  bring  more  of 
the  tribe  and  dogs.  I  drove  out  with  them  a  few 
miles,  and  we  parted  on  the  ice.  When  about  a  mile 
away,  I  observed  Myouk  jump  from  the  sledge  to 
pick  up  something  which  he  had  dropped.  No  doubt 
rejoiced  to  be  rid  of  this  extra  load  on  his  rickety 
sledge,  Tattarat  whipped  up  his  team,  and  the  last  I 
saw  of  poor  Myouk  he  was  running  on,  struggling 
manfully  to  catch  up;  but,  notwithstanding  all  his 
efforts,  he  was  falling  behind,  and  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  he  was  suffered  to  walk  all  the  way  to  Iteplik. 

This  Myouk  was  the  same  droll  creature  that  he 
was  when  I  knew  him  formerly,  —  a  sort  of  Arctic 
Micawber,  everlastingly  waiting  for  something  to  turn 
up  which  never  did  turn  up ;  and,  with  much  cheer- 
fulness, hoping  for  good  luck  which  never  came.  He 
recited  to  me  all  of  his  hardships  and  misfortunes. 
His  sledge  was  all  broken  to  pieces,  and  he  could  not 
mend  it ;  his  dogs  were  all  dead  except  the  one  he 
sold  to  me  ;  he  had  stuck  his  harpoon  into  a  walrus, 
and  the  line  had  parted,  and  the  walrus  carried  it 
away ;  he  had  lost  his  lance,  and  altogether  his  affairs 
were  in  a  very  lamentable  state.  His  family  were  in 
great  distress,  as  he  could  not  catch  any  thing  for 
them  to  eat,  and  so  they  had  gone  to  Tattarat's  hut. 
Tattarat  was  a  poor  hunter,  and  he  made  a  terrible 
grimace,  which  told  how  great  was  his  contempt  for 
that  doughty  individual.  So  now  he  proposed,  as  soon 
as  he  got  home,  to  try  Kalutunah.  To  be  sure,  Kalu- 
tunah's  establishment  was  pretty  well  filled  already, 
there  being  not  less  than  three  families  quartered 
there ;  but  still,  he  thought  there  was  room  for  one 


DOMESTIC   FELICITY.  263 

family  more.  At  all  events,  he  should  try  it.  And 
now  would  not  the  Nalegaksoak,  —  the  big  chief  who 
was  so  rich  and  so  mighty,  be  good  enough  to  give 
him  so  many  presents  that  he  would  go  back  and 
make  everybody  envious  ?  Human  nature  is  the 
same  in  the  Arctic  as  in  the  Temperate  zone  ;  and, 
gratified  writh  this  discovery,  I  fairly  loaded  the  rogue 
down  with  riches,  and  sent  him  away  rejoicing.  But 
this  wife,  what  of  her  ?  "  Oh,  she  's  lazy  and  will  not 
do  any  thing,  and  made  me  come  all  this  long  journey 
to  get  her  some  needles  which  she  won't  use,  and  a 
knife  which  she  has  no  use  for ;  and  now  when  I  go 
back  without  any  dog,  won't  I  catch  it ! "  —  and  he 
caught  hold  of  his  tongue  and  pulled  it  as  far  out  of 
his  mouth  as  he  could  get  it,  trying  in  this  graphic 
manner  to  illustrate  the  length  of  that  aggressive 
organ  in  the  wife  of  his  bosom.  "  But,"  added  this 
savage  Benedict,  "  she  has  a  ragged  coat,  so  full  of 
holes  that  she  cannot  go  out  of  the  hut  without  fear 
of  freezing ;  and  if  she  scolds  me  too  much  I  won't 
give  her  any  of  these  needles,  and  I  won't  catch  her 
any  foxes  to  make  a  new  one  ;  "  —  but  it  was  easy  to 
see  that  the  needles  would  not  be  long  withheld,  and 
that  the  foxes  would  be  caught  when  he  was  told  to 
catch  them.  And  so  pitying  his  domestic  misfortunes, 
I  added  some  presents  for  this  amiable  creature  of  the 
ragged  coat ;  and  when  he  told  me  that  she  had  pre- 
sented him  with  an  heir  to  the  Myouk  miseries,  I 
added  something  for  that,  too.  This  little  hopeful,  he 
informed  me,  was  already  being  weaned  from  its  nat- 
ural and  maternal  supplies,  and  was  exhibiting  great 
aptitude  for  blubber.  He  had  called  it  Dak-ta-gee, 
which  was  the  nearest  that  he  could  come  to  pro- 
nouncing Doctor  Kane. 


264  ESQUIMAU   GRATITUDE. 

Kalutunah  and  his  companions  had  scarcely  been 
gone  when  another  sledge  came,  bringing  two  more 
Esquimaux,  —  Amalatok,  of  Northumberland  Island, 
and  his  son.  They  had  four  dogs  ;  and  having  stopped 
on  the  way  to  catch  a  walrus,  part  of  which  they  had 
brought  with  them,  they  were  much,  fatigued ;  and, 
having  got  wet  in  securing  the  prize,  they  were  cold 
and  a  little  frozen.  Both  were  for  several  days  quite 
sick  in  Tcheitchenguak's  snow-hut,  and  I  had  at  last 
a  patient,  and  the  snow-hut  became  a  sort  of  hospital, 
for  old  Tcheitchenguak  was  sick  too.  I  either  visited 
them  myself  or  sent  Mr.  Knorr  twice  daily ;  but  the 
odor  of  the  place  becoming  at  length  too  much  for 
that  gentleman's  aristocratic  nose,  I  could  no  longer 
prescribe  by  proxy,  and  so  went  myself  and  cured  my 
patients  very  speedily,  winning  great  credit  as  a  Nar- 
kosak,  the  "  medicine  man,"  in  addition  to  being  the 
Nalegaksoak,  "  the  big  chief."  Amalatok  thought  at 
one  time  that  he  was  going  to  die,  and  indeed  I  be- 
came sincerely  alarmed  about  my  reputation  ;  but  he 
came  round  all  right  in  the  end,  and,  strange  though 
it  may  appear,  his  memory  actually  outlived  the  ser- 
vice long  enough  for  him  to  do  more  than  to  say 
" Koyanak,"  —  "I  thank  you  ; "  —  that  is  to  say,  as 
soon  as  he  could  get  about  he  brought  me  his  best 
dog,  and,  in  token  of  gratitude,  made  me  a  present  of 
it.  Afterward,  upon  the  offer  of  some  substantial  gifts, 
he  sold  me  another,  and  he  went  home  as  rich  as  the 
party  that  had  preceded  him,  and  happy  as  Moses 
Primrose  returning  from  the  fair  with  his  gross  of 
shagreen  spectacles. 

And  thus  my  kennels  were  being  once  more  filled 
up,  and  my  heart  was  rejoiced. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

KALUTUNAH  RETURNS.  — AN  ESQUIMAU  FAMILY.  — THE  FAMILY  PROPERTY.— 
THE  FAMILY  WARDROBE.  —  MYOUK  AND  HIS  WIFE.  —  PETER'S  DEAD  BODY 
FOUND. —MY  NEW  TEAMS.— THE  SITUATION.  —  HUNTING.  —  SUBSISTENCE 
OF  ARCTIC  ANIMALS. —PURSUIT  OF  SCIENCE  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES.  —  KA- 
LUTUNAH  AT  HOME.  — AN  ESQUIMAU  FEAST.  —  KALUTUN AH  IN  SERVICE.— 
RECOVERING  THE  BODY  OF  MR.  SONNTAG.  —  THE  FUNERAL.  — THE  TOMB. 

KALUTUNAH  came  back  after  a  few  days,  according 
to  his  promise,  and  brought  along  with  him  the  entire 
Kalutunah  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren. It  was  a  regular  "  moving." 

The  chief  had  managed  in  some  manner  to  get  to- 
gether another  team  of  six  good  dogs,  and  he  came 
up  in  fine  style,  bringing  along  with  him  on  his  small 
sledge  every  thing  that  he  had  in  the  world,  and  that 
was  not  much.  The  conveniences  for  life's  comforts 
possessed  by  these  Arctic  nomads  are  not  numerous ; 
and  it  is  fortunate  that  their  desires  so  well  accord 
with  their  means  of  gratifying  them,  for  probably  no 
people  in  the  world  possess  so  little,  either  of  porta- 
ble or  other  kind  of  property.  The  entire  cargo  of 
the  sledge  consisted  of  parts  of  two  bear-skins,  the 
family  bedding ;  a  half-dozen  seal-skins,  the  family 
tent ;  two  lances  and  two  harpoons ;  a  few  substantial 
harpoon  lines  ;  a  couple  of  lamps  and  pots ;  some  im- 
plements and  materials  for  repairing  the  sledge  in  the 
event  of  accident;  a  small  seal-skin  bag,  containing 
the  family  wardrobe  (that  is,  the  implements  for  re- 
pairing it,  for  the  entire  wardrobe  was  on  their  backs) ; 


266  AN   ESQUIMAU  FAMILY. 

and  then  there  was  a  roll  of  dried  grass,  which  they 
use  as  we  do  cork  soles  for  the  boots,  and  some  dried 
moss  for  lamp-wick  ;  and  for  food  they  had  a  few 
small  pieces  of  walrus  meat  and  blubber.  This  cargo 
was  covered  with  one  of  the  seal-skins,  over  which 
was  passed  from  side  to  side  a  line,  like  a  sandal-lacing, 
and  the  whole  was  bound  down  compactly  to  the 
sledge  ;  and  on  the  top  of  it  rode  the  family,  Kalutu- 
nah  himself  walking  alongside  and  encouraging  on 
his  team  rather  with  kind  persuasion  than  with  the 
usual  Esquimau  cruelty.  In  front  sat  the  mother, 
the  finest  specimen  of  the  Esquimau  matron  that  I 
had  seen.  In  the  large  hood  of  her  fox-skin  coat,  a 
sort  of  dorsal  opossum-pouch,  nestled  a  sleeping  in- 
fant Close  beside  the  mother  sat  the  boy  to  whom  I 
have  before  referred,  their  first-born,  and  the  father's 
pride.  Next  came  a  girl,  about  seven  years  old  ;  and 
another,  a  three  year  old,  was  wrapped  up  in  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  furs,  and  was  lashed  to  the  up- 
standers. 

As  the  sledge  rounded  to,  near  the  vessel,  I  went 
out  to  meet  them.  The  children  were  at  first  a  little 
frightened,  but  they  were  soon  got  to  laugh,  and  I 
found  that  the  same  arts  which  win  the  affections  of 
Christian  babies  were  equally  potent  with  the  hea- 
then. The  wife  remembered  me  well,  and  called  me 
"Doc-tee,"  while  Kalutunah,  grinning  all  over  with 
delight,  pointed  to  his  dogs,  exclaiming  with  pride, 
"  They  are  fine  ones ! "  to  which  I  readily  assented  ; 
and  then  he  added,  "I  come  to  give  them  all  to  the 
Nalegaksoak  ; "  and  to  this  I  also  assented. 

What  surprised  me  most  with  this  family  was  their 
apparent  indifference  to  the  cold.  They  had  come 
from  Iteplik  in  slow  marches,  stopping  when  tired  in 


MYOUK  AND  FAMILY.  2C7 

a  snow  shelter,  or  in  deserted  huts,  and  during  this 
time  our  thermometers  were  ranging  from  30°  to  40° 
below  zero ;  and  when  they  came  on  board  out  of 
this  temperature  it  never  seemed  to  occur  to  them  to 
warm  themselves,  but  they  first  wandered  all  over  the 
ship,  satisfying  their  curiosity. 

A  few  hours  afterward  there  arrived  a  family  of 
quite  another  description,  —  Myouk  and  his  wife  of 
the  ragged  coat.  They  had  walked  all  the  way  up 
from  Iteplik,  the  woman  carrying  her  baby  on  her 
back  all  of  these  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Myouk 
was  evidently  at  a  loss  to  find  an  excuse  for  paying 
me  this  visit ;  but  he  put  a  bold  front  on,  and,  like 
Kalutunah,.  discovered  a  reason.  "  I  corne  to  show 
the  Nalegaksoak  my  wife  and  Daktagee,"  pointing  to 
the  dowdy,  dirty  creature  that  owned  him  for  a  hus- 
band, and  the  forlorn  being  that  owned  him  for  a 
father.  But  when  he  perceived  that  I  was  not  likely 
to  pay  much  for  the  sight,  he  timidly  remarked,  writh 
another  significant  point,  "  She  made  me  come,"  and 
then  started  off,  doubtless  to  see  what  he  could  steal. 

My  arrangements  were  soon  concluded  with  Kalu- 
tunah. He  was  to  live  over  in  the  hut  at  Etah,  to  do 
such  hunting  as  he  could  without  the  aid  of  his  dogs, 
all  of  which  he  loaned  to  me ;  but,  in  any  event,  my 
stores  were  to  be  his  reliance,  and  I  bound  myself  to 
supply  him  with  all  that  he  required  for  the  support 
of  himself  and  his  family. 

On  the  following  day  the  hut  at  Etah  was  cleared 
out  and  put  in  order,  and  this  interesting  family  took 
up  their  abode  there,  while  Myouk,  as  eager  to  place 
himself  under  the  protection  of  a  man  high  in  favor 
as  if  his  skin  had  been  white  and  he  knew  the  mean- 
ing of  "  public  office  "  and  lived  nearer  the  equator. 


268  PETER'S   DEAD   BODY. 

followed  the  great  man  to  his  new  abode,  and  crawled 
into  a  corner  of  his  den  as  coolly  as  if  he  was  a  de- 
serving fellow,  and  not  the  most  arrant  little  knave 
and  beggar  that  ever  sponged  on  worth  and  industry. 

Kalutunah  brought  a  solution  of  the  Peter  mystery. 
As  soon  as  the  daylight  began  to  come  back,  one  of 
the  Iteplik  hunters,  named  Nesark,  determined  to 
travel  up  to  Peteravik,  and  there  try  his  fortunes  in 
the  seal  hunt.  Arriving  at  the  hut  (these  Esquimau 
huts  are  common  property)  at  that  place,  he  was  sur- 
prised to  discover,  lying  on  the  floor,  a  much  ema- 
ciated corpse.  It  was  that  of  an  Esquimau  dressed 
in  white  man's  clothing,  and  the  description  left  no 
doubt  that  it  was  the  body  of  Peter.  Nesark  gave  it 
Esquimau  burial.  And  thus,  after  the  lapse  of  three 
months,  this  strange  story  was  brought  to  a  close  ; 
but  I  was  still  as  far  as  ever  from  an  explanation  of 
the  hapless  boy's  strange  conduct. 

I  had  now  become  the  possessor  of  seventeen  dogs, 
and  awaited  only  one  principal  event  to  set  out  on  a 
preliminary  journey  northward.  The  sea  had  not  yet 
closed  about  Sunrise  Point,  and  I  could  not  get  out 
of  the  bay  on  that  side.  To  travel  over  the  land  was, 
owing  to  its  great  roughness,  impracticable  for  a 
sledge,  even  if  without  cargo  ;  and  to  round  the  Point 
at  that  season  of  the  year,  through  the  broken  ice  and 
rough  sea,  in  an  open  boat,  was,  for  obvious  reasons, 
not  to  be  thought  of. 

My  plan  had  always  been  to  set  out  with  my  prin- 
cipal party,  when  the  temperature  had  begun  to 
moderate  toward  the  summer,  which  was  likely  to  be 
about  the  first  of  April ;  but  I  had  looked  forward  to 
doing  some  serviceable  work  with  my  dogs  prior  to 
that  time.  March  is  the  coldest  month  of  the  Arctic 


THE   SITUATION.  269 

year ;  but  while  I  had  no  hesitation  in  setting  out 
with  dog-sledges  at  that  period,  the  recollection  of 
Dr.  Kane's  disasters  was  too  fresh  in  my  mind  to 
justify  me  in  sending  out  a  foot  party  in  the  March 
temperatures. 

While  waiting  for  the  frost  to  build  a  bridge  for  me 
around  Sunrise  Point,  I  was  feeding  up  and  strength- 
ening my  dogs.  They  soon  proved  to  be  very  infe- 
rior to  the  animals  which  I  had  lost,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  give  them  as  much  rest  and  good  rations  as 
possible.  I  went  repeatedly  to  Chester  Valley  in  pur- 
suit of  reindeer.  Along  the  borders  of  the  lake  these 
beasts  had  flocked  in  great  numbers  during  the  win- 
ter, and  whole  acres  of  snow  had  been  tossed  up  with 
their  hoofs,  while  searching  for  the  dead  vegetation 
of  the  previous  summer.  The  rabbits  and  the  ptar- 
migan had  followed  them,  to  gather  the  buds  of  the 
willow-stems  which  were  occasionally  tossed  up,  and 
which  form  their  subsistence.  During  one  of  my 
journeys  I  secured  a  line  specimen  skin  of  a  doe,  but 
in  order  to  do  this  I  was  obliged  to  take  it  off  with 
my  own  hands  before  it  should  freeze.  The  tempera- 
ture at  the  time  was  33°  below  zero,  and  I  do  not  ever 
remember  to  have  had  my  regard  for  Natural  History 
so  severely  tested. 

I  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  recover  the  body  of 
Mr.  Sonntag  before  I  left  the  vessel ;  and,  desiring  to 
secure  the  assistance  of  Kalutunah  for  that  purpose,  I 
drove  over  to  Etah  a  few  days  after  he  had  become 
fixed  there.  I  had  eleven  of  my  new  dogs  harnessed 
to  the  sledge,  and  Jensen  "  was  himself  again." 

I  found  Kalutunah  very  comfortably  fixed  and  appa- 
rently well  contented.  I  carried  with  me  as  a  present 
for  a  house-warming  a  quarter  of  a  recently-captured 


270  KALUTUNAH    AT   HOME. 

deer,  and  a  couple  of  gallons  of  oil.  Observing  our 
approach,  he  came  out  to  meet  us,  and,  some  snow 
having  drifted  into  the  passage,  he  scraped  it  away 
with  his  foot,  and  invited  us  to  enter.  This  we  did 
on  our  hands  and  knees,  through  a  sort  of  tunnel 
about  twelve  feet  long  ;  and  thence  we  emerged  into 
a  dimly  lighted  den,  where,  coiled  up  in  a  nest  of  rein- 
deer-skins which  I  had  given  them,  was  the  family  of 
the  chief  and  the  wife  and  baby  of  Myouk.  Kalutu- 
nah's  wife  was  stitching  away  quite  swiftly  at  a  pair 
of  boots  for  my  use,  and  I  brought  her  some  more 
"  work,"  and  also  some  presents,  among  which  was  a 
string  of  beads  and  a  looking-glass,  which  much 
amused  the  children.  Myouk's  wife,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  quite  idle,  not  even  looking  after  her  child, 
which,  startled  by  our  approach,  rolled  down  on  the 
floor  about  our  feet,  and  thence  into  the  entrance 
among  the  snow  which  lay  scattered  along  the  pas- 
sage. The  poor  little  creature,  being  almost  naked, 
set  up  a  terrible  scream,  and  its  amiable  mother, 
promptly  seizing  it  by  one  of  its  legs,  hauled  it  up 
and  crammed  into  its  mouth  a  chunk  of  blubber  which 
quickly  stopped  its  noise. 

Both  this  woman  and  her  husband  were  evidently 
a  great  annoyance  to  the  frugal  proprietors  of  the 
hut ;  but,  with  a  generous  practice  of  hospitality 
which  I  have  not  found  elsewhere,  in  history  or  fic- 
tion, except  in  Cedric  the  Saxon,  such  a  worthless 
crew  are  suffered  to  settle  themselves  upon  a  thrifty 
family  without  fear  of  being  turned  out  of  doors. 

I  sat  for  some  time  talking  to  Kalutunah  and  his 
industrious  wife.  There  was  not  room,  it  was  true, 
with  so  many  people  in  the  hut,  to  be  greatly  at  one's 
ease,  and  I  had  to  dodge  my  head  when  I  moved,  to 


A  MORNING  CALL.  271 

keep  from  striking  the  stone  rafters.  Besides,  the 
smell  of  the  place  had  rather  a  tendency  to  fill  one's 
mind  with  longings  for  the  open  air ;  but  I  managed 
to  remain  long  enough  to  conclude  some  important 
arrangements  with  my  ally  and  his  useful  spouse,  and 
then  I  took  my  leave  with  mutual  protestations  of 
friendship  and  good-will.  I  said  to  him  at  parting, 
"  You  are  chief  and  I  am  chief,  and  we  will  both  tell 
our  respective  people  to  be  good  to  each  other ; "  but 
he  answered,  "  Na,  na,  I  am  chief,  but  you  are  the 
great  chief,  and  the  Esquimaux  will  do  what  you  say. 
The  Esquimaux  like  you,  and  are  your  friends.  You 
make  them  many  presents."  I  might  have  told  him 
that  this  all-powerful  method  of  inspiring  friendship 
was  not  alone  applicable  to  Esquimaux. 

This  visit  was  a  pleasant  little  episode.  I  was  much 
pleased  at  the  honest  heartiness  with  which  Kalutu- 
nah  entered  into  my  plans ;  while  the  childish  sim- 
plicity of  his  habits  and  the  frankness  of  his  declara- 
tions won  for  him  a  conspicuous  place  in  my  regard. 

He  was  greatly  amused  with  our  guns,  and  begged 
for  one  of  them,  declaring  that  he  could  sit  in  his  hut 
and  kill  the  reindeer  as  they  passed  by.  He  would 
put  the  gun  through  the  window,  and  he  pointed  to  a 
hole  in  the  wall  about  a  foot  square,  where  the  light 
was  admitted  through  a  thin  slab  of  hard  snow.  In 
the  centre  of  it  he  had  made  a  round  orifice,  which  he 
said,  laughingly,  was  for  the  purpose  of  looking  out 
for  the  Nalegaksoak,  —  a  well-turned  compliment,  if 
it  did  come  from  a  savage,  and  all  the  more  adroit 
that  the  orifice  was  really  for  ventilation,  at  least  it 
was  the  only  opening  by  which  the  foul  air  could  pos- 
sibly escape.  Both  himself  and  wife  were  highly  de- 
lighted with  the  presents  which  I  had  brought  them. 


272  AN  ESQUIMAU  FEAST. 

Although  they  are  surrounded  by  reindeer,  venison  is 
a  luxury  which  they  rarely  enjoy,  as  they  possess  no 
means  of  capturing  the  animals.  They  have  not  the 
bows  and  arrows  of  the  Esquimaux  of  some  other 
localities.  Without  waiting  for  it  to  be  cooked,  Kalu- 
tunah  commenced  a  vigorous  attack  upon  the  raw, 
frozen  flesh.  His  wife  and  children  were  not  slow  to 
follow  his  example,  crowding  round  it  where  it  lay  on 
the  dirty  floor ;  and,  without  halting  for  an  invitation, 
Mrs.  Myouk  joined  in  the  feast.  And  I  have  never 
witnessed  a  feast  which  seemed  to  give  so  much  satis- 
faction to  the  actors  in  it,  not  even  hungry  aldermen 
at  a  corporation  banquet.  Kalutunah  was  grinning 
all  over  with  delight.  He  was  eminently  happy.  His 
teeth  were  unintermittingly  crushing  the  hard  kernels 
which  he  chipped  from  the  frozen  "  leg,"  and  a  steady 
stream  of  the  luscious  food  was  pouring  down  his 
throat.  His  tongue  had  little  chance,  but  now  and 
then  it  got  loose  from  the  venison  tangle,  and  then  I 
heard  much  of  the  greatness  and  the  goodness  of  the 
Nalegaksoak.  The  man's  enjoyment  was  a  pleasant 
thing  to  behold. 

But  if  the  reindeer-leg  gave  satisfaction,  the  oil 
gave  comfort.  The  hut  was  dark  and  chilly,  not  hav- 
ing yet  become  thoroughly  thawed  out.  Kalutunah 
now  thought  that  he  could  afford  another  lamp,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  after  we  had  entered  a  fresh  blaze 
was  burning  in  the  corner.  I  have  before  explained 
that  the  Esquimau  lamp  is  only  a  shallow  dish,  cut 
out  of  a  block  of  soap-stone.  The  dried  moss  which 
they  use  for  wick  is  arranged  around  the  edge,  and 
the  blaze  therefrom  gives  their  only  light  and  heat. 
Over  the  lamps  hung  pots  of  the  same  soap-stone,  and 
into  these  Mrs.  Kalutunah  put  some  snow,  that  she 


MY  ESQUIMAU  PEOPLE.  273 

might  have  the  water  for  a  venison-soup,  of  which  she 
invited  us  to  stay  and  partake.  I  knew  by  former 
experience  too  well  the  nature  of  the  Esquimau  cui- 
sine to  make  me  anxious  to  learn  further,  so  I  plead 
business,  and  left  them  to  enjoy  themselves  in  their 
own  way.  How  long  they  kept  up  their  feast  I  did 
not  learn,  but  when  Kalutunah  came  over  next  morn 
ing,  he  informed  me  that  there  was  no  more  venison 
in  the  hut  at  Etah,  —  a  hint  which  was  not  thrown 
away. 

My  Esquimau  people  now  numbered  seventeen 
souls ;  namely,  six  men,  four  women,  and  seven  chil- 
dren ;  and  they  presented  as  many  different  shades 
of  character  and  usefulness.  The  inconveniences  to 
which  they  subjected  us  were  amply  compensated  for 
by  the  sewing  which  the  wives  of  Kalutunah  and 
Tcheitchenguak  did  for  us ;  for,  in  spite  of  all  our  in- 
genuity and  patience,  there  was  no  one  in  the  ship's 
company  who  could  make  an  Esquimau  boot,  and  this 
boot  is  the  only  suitable  covering  for  the  foot  in  the 
Arctic  regions.  Of  the  men,  Hans  was  the  most  use- 
ful; for,  in  spite  of  his  objectionable  qualities,  he  was, 
Jensen  excepted,  my  best  hunter.  Kalutunah  came 
on  board  daily,  and,  as  a  privileged  guest,  he  sought 
me  in  my  cabin.  My  journey  over  to  Etah  made  him 
supremely  happy ;  for,  like  the  sound  of  coming  bat- 
tle to  the  warrior  who  has  long  reposed  in  peace,  a 
new  life  was  put  into  him  when  I  offered  him  the  care 
of  one  of  my  newly  acquired  teams.  He  came  on 
board  the  next  morning  and  took  charge  of  the  dogs ; 
and  when,  a  few  days  afterward,  I  further  exhibited 
my  confidence  in  him  by  sending  him  down  to  Cape 
Alexander  to  see  if  the  ice  was  firm,  the  cup  of  his 
joy  was  full  to  the  brim. 

18 


274  RECOVERY   OF   SONKTAG'S  BODY. 

The  report  of  Kalutunah  being  favorable,  I  dis- 
patched Mr.  Dodge  to  bring  up  the  body  of  Mr. 
Sonntag.  He  took  the  two  teams,  Kalutunah  driving 
one  and  Hans  the  other. 

Mr.  Dodge  performed  the  journey  with  skill  and 
energy.  He  reached  Sorfalik  in  five  hours,  and  had 
no  difficulty  in  finding  the  locality  of  which  they  were 
in  search,  Hans  remembering  it  by  a  large  rock,  or 
rather  cliff,  in  the  lee  of  which  they  had  built  their 
snow-hut.  But  the  winds  had  since  piled  the  snow 
over  the  hut,  and  it  was  completely  buried  out  of 
sight.  They  were  therefore  compelled  to  disinter  the 
body  by  laboriously  digging  through  the  hard  drift ; 
and  it  being  quite  dark  and  they  much  fatigued  when 
the  task  was  completed,  they  constructed  a  shelter  of 
snow,  fed  their  dogs,  and  rested.  Although  the  tem- 
perature was  42°  below  zero,  they  managed  to  sleep 
in  their  furs  without  serious  inconvenience.  This  was 
the  first  of  Mr.  Dodge's  experience  at  this  sort  of 
camping  out,  and  he  was  justly  elated  with  the  suc- 
cess of  the  experiment. 

Setting  out  as  soon  as  the  daylight  returned,  the 
party  came  back  by  the  same  track  which  they  had 
before  pursued  ;  but,  greatly  to  their  surprise,  the 
tides  and  wind  had,  in  the  interval,  carried  off"  much 
of  the  ice  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cape,  so  that 
they  had  before  them  the  prospect  of  the  very  diffi- 
cult task  of  crossing  the  glacier.  This,  not  particu- 
larly embarrassing  to  an  empty  sledge,  would  have 
been  exceedingly  so  to  them.  Fortunately,  however, 
they  succeeded  with  some  risk  in  getting  over  a  very 
treacherous  place  where  the  ice-foot,  to  which  they 
were  forced  to  adhere,  was  sloping,  and  one  of  the 
sledges  had  nearly  gone  over  into  the  sea.  Kalutu- 


BURIAL   OF   SONNTAG.  275 

nah  saved  it  by  a  dexterous  movement  which  could 
have  been  performed  with  safety  only  by  one  familiar, 
by  long  experience,  with  such  dangers  and  expe- 
dients. 

The  body  of  our  late  comrade  was  placed  in  the 
observatory,  where  a  few  weeks  before  his  fine  mind 
had  been  intent  upon  those  pursuits  which  were  the 
delight  of  his  life  ;  and  on  the  little  staff  which  sur- 
mounted the  building  the  flag  was  raised  at  half-mast. 

The  preparations  for  the  funeral  were  conducted 
with  fitting  solemnity.  A  neat  coffin  was  made  under 
the  supervision  of  Mr.  McCormick,  and  the  body  hav- 
ing been  placed  therein  with  every  degree  of  care,  it 
was,  on  the  second  day  after  the  return  of  Mr.  Dodge, 
brought  outside  and  covered  with  the  flag,  and  then, 
followed  by  the  entire  ship's  company,  in  solemn  pro- 
cession, it  was  borne  by  four  of  the  sorrowing  mess- 
mates of  the  deceased  to  the  grave  which  had,  with 
much  difficulty,  been  dug  in  the  frozen  terrace.  As 
it  lay  in  its  last  cold  resting-place,  I  read  over  the 
body  the  burial-service,  and  the  grave  was  then  closed. 
Above  it  we  afterward  built,  with  stones,  a  neatly 
shaped  mound,  and  marked  the  head  with  a  chiseled 
slab,  bearing  this  inscription  :  — 


t 


AUGUST  SONNTAG. 

Died 
December,  1860, 

AGED  28   YEARS. 

And  here  in  the  drear  solitude  of  the  Arctic  desert 
our  comrade  sleeps  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking 
in  this  troubled  world,  —  where  no  loving  hands  can 


276 


SONNTAG'S  TOMB. 


ever  come  to  strew  his  grave  with  flowers,  nor  eyes 
grow  dim  with  sorrowing ;  but  the  gentle  stars,  which 
in  life  he  loved  so  well,  will  keep  over  him  eternal 
vigil,  and  the  winds  will  wail  over  him,  and  Nature, 
his  mistress,  will  drop  upon  his  tomb  her  frozen  tears 
forevermore. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

STARTING  ON  MY  FIRST  JOURNEY. —OBJECT  OF  THE  JOURNEY.  — A  MISHAP.— 
A  FRESH  START.  — THE  FIRST  CAMP.— HARTSTENE'S  CAIRN.  —  EXPLORING 
A  TRACK. —  A  NEW  STYLE  OF  SNOW-HUT.  — AN  UNCOMFORTABLE  NIGHT.— 
LOW  TEMPERATURE.  — EFFECT  OF  TEMPERATURE  ON  THE  SNOW.  —  AMONG 
THE  HUMMOCKS.  — SIGHTING  HUMBOLDT  GLACIER.  —  THE  TRACK  IMPRAC- 
TICABLE TO  THE  MAIN  PARTY.  — VAN  RENSSELAER  HARBOR.  — FATE  OF 
THE  ADVANCE.  — A  DRIVE  IN  A  GALE. 

ON  the  16th  of  March  I  found  myself  able  for  the 
first  time  to  get  around  Sunrise  Point.  Except  dur- 
ing a  brief  interval,  the  temperature  had  now  fallen 
lower  than  at  any  previous  period  of  the  winter ;  and, 
the  air  having  been  quite  calm  for  two  days,  the  ice 
had  formed  over  the  outer  bay.  This  long  desired 
event  was  hailed  with  satisfaction,  and  I  determined 
to  start  north  at  once. 

My  preparations  occupied  but  a  few  hours,  as  every 
thing  had  been  ready  for  weeks  past.  The  charge  of 
one  of  the  sledges  was  given  to  Jensen,  the  other  to 
Kalutunah,  the  former  having  nine  and  the  latter  six 
dogs.  One  of  the  dogs  had  died  and  another  had 
been  crippled  in  a  fight,  thus  leaving  me  only  fifteen 
for  service. 

My  object  in  this  preliminary  journey  was  chiefly 
to  explore  the  track,  and  determine  whether  it  were 
best  to  adhere  to  the  Greenland  coast,  following  up 
the  route  of  Dr.  Kane,  or  to  strike  directly  across  the 
Sound  from  above  Cape  Hatherton,  in  the  endeavor 
,  to  reach,  on  Grinnell  Land,  the  point  of  departure 


278  A  MISHAP. 

for  which  I  had  striven,  without  success,  the  previous 
autumn.  It  was  evident  that  every  thing  depended 
upon  being  now  able  to  make  good  what  I  had  lost 
by  that  failure,  through  a  chain  of  circumstances 
which  I  have  no  need  to  repeat,  as  the  reader  will 
recall  the  struggle  which  resulted  in  the  crippling  of 
my  vessel,  and  which  had  nearly  caused  its  total 
wreck  among  the  ice-fields  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Sound.  If  the  state  of  the  ice  should  prove  favorable 
to  a  speedy  crossing  of  the  Sound  to  Grinnell  Land, 
or  even  to  securing,  without  much  delay,  a  conven- 
ient point  of  departure  on  the  Greenland  side  beyond 
Humboldt  Glacier,  I  had  little  doubt  as  to  the  suc- 
cessful termination  of  my  summer  labors. 

Upon  reaching  Sunrise  Point  we  found  the  ice  to 
be  very  rough  and  insecure,  and  the  tide  of  the  previ- 
ous night  had  opened  a  wide  crack  directly  off  the 
point,  which  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  cross.  This 
crack  had  been  closed  over  but  a  few  hours,  and  the 
dogs  hesitated  a  moment  at  its  margin  ;  but  Jensen's 
whip  reassured  them,  and  they  plunged  ahead.  The 
ice  bent  under  their  weight,  and,  as  if  by  a  mutual 
understanding,  the  team  scattered,  but  not  in  time  to 
save  themselves,  for  down  they  all  sank,  higgledy-pig- 
gledy, into  the  sea,  dragging  the  sledge  after  them. 
Being  seated  on  the  back  part  of  it,  I  had  time  to  roll 
myself  off,  but  Jensen  was  not  so  fortunate,  and  dogs, 
sledge,  driver  and  all  were  floundering  together  in  a 
confused  tangle  among  the  broken  ice.  Kalutunah, 
who  was  a  few  paces  in  the  rear,  coming  up,  we  extri- 
cated them  from  their  cold  bath.  Jensen  was  pretty 
well  soaked,  and  his  boots  were  filled  with  water. 
Being  only  five  miles  from  the  schooner,  I  thought  it 
safest  to  drive  back  as  rapidly  as  possible  rather  than 


THE  FIRST  CAMP.  279 

construct  a  snow-hut  to  shelter  my  unlucky  driver 
from  the  cold  wind  which  was  beginning  to  blow. 
Besides,  our  buffalo-skins  were  as  wet  as  they  could 
be,  and  we  should  have  precious  little  comfort  on  our 
journey  if  we  did  not  return  and  exchange  them  for 
dry  ones.  The  dogs,  too,  ran  great  risk  of  injury  by 
being  allowed  to  rest  in  their  wet  coats  in  so  low  a 
temperature.  The  whip  was  not  spared,  and  the  ves- 
sel was  reached  without  serious  consequences  either 
to  Jensen  or  the  team.  An  hour  or  so  sufficed  for  us 
to  refit,  when  we  started  again ;  and  being  this  time 
more  cautious,  we  got  around  the  point  without  fur- 
ther trouble. 

The  ice  was  found  to  be  smooth  and  the  traveling 
good  as  we  moved  up  the  coast ;  and,  not  being  very 
heavily  laden,  we  got  on  at  a  good  pace.  The  snow 
had  been  packed  very  hard  by  the  winds,  and  wher- 
ever there  had  been  hummocks  it  had  collected  be- 
tween them,  so  that,  although  the  surface  was  some- 
what rolling  and  uneven,  yet  it  was  as  firm  as  a 
country  road.  Darkness  coming  on,  (we  had  not  yet 
reached  the  constant  sunlight  of  summer,)  we  hauled 
in  under  Cape  Hatherton  and  made  our  first  camp. 

It  was  a  real  Arctic  camp  ;  —  picketing  the  dogs 
and  burrowing  in  a  snow-bank  are  very  simple  opera- 
tions, and  require  but  little  time.  Jensen  made  the 
burrow,  and  Kalutunah  looked  after  the  animals ;  and 
when  all  was  ready  we  crawled  in  and  tried  our  best 
to  be  comfortable  and  to  sleep ;  but  the  recollection 
of  the  ship's  bunk  was  too  recent  to  render  either 
practicable,  except  to  Kalutunah,  who  did  not  seem 
to  mind  any  thing,  and  snored  all  through  the  night 
m  a  most  awful  manner.  The  outside  temperature 
was  40°  below  zero. 


280  HARTSTENE'S  CAIRN. 

I  was  not  sorry  when  we  got  under  way  again  next 
morning,  and  we  were  soon  warmed  up  with  the  ex- 
ercise. The  same  condition  of  ice  continuing  after 
passing  Cape  Hatherton,  we  quickly  reached  the  north 
horn  of  Fog  Inlet.  Here,  as  we  approached  the  point, 
I  discovered  a  cairn  perched  upon  a  conspicuous  spot, 
and,  not  having  remembered  it  as  the  work  of  any 
of  Dr.  Kane's  parties,  I  halted  the  sledges  and  went 
ashore  to  inspect  it.  It  proved  to  have  been  built  by 
Captain  Hartstene,  while  searching  for  Dr.  Kane,  as 
shown  by  a  record  found  in  a  glass  vial  at  its  base. 
The  record  was  as  follows :  — 

"  The  U.  S.  Steamer  Arctic  touched  here  and  examined  thoroughly 
for  traces  of  Dr.  Kane  and  his  associates,  without  finding  any  thing 
more  than  a  vial,  with  a  small  piece  of  cartridge-paper  with  the  let- 
lers  '  0.  K.  Aug.  1 853,'  some  matches,  and  a  ship's  rifle-ball.  We 
go  from  this  unknown  point  to  Cape  Hatherton  for  a  search. 

"  H.  J.  HARTSTENE, 
Lieut.  Comdg.  Arctic  Expedition. 
"8  P.  M.  August  16th,  1855. 

"  P.  S.  Should  the  U.  S.  bark  Release  find  this,  she  will  under- 
derstand  that  we  are  bound  for  a  search  at  Cape  Hatherton. 

«  H.  J.  H." 

I  was  much  gratified  with  this  discovery,  for  it 
brought  to  my  mind  the  recollection  of  the  protect- 
ing care  of  our  government,  and  a  gallant  effort  to 
rescue  from  the  jaws  of  the  Arctic  ice  a  very  forlorn 
party  of  men.  I  was  only  sorry  that  the  author  of 
this  hastily  written  evidence  of  his  spirited  search  had 
not  reached  Cape  Hatherton  some  time  earlier,  for 
then  we  should  have  been  saved  many  a  hard  and 
weary  pull.  The  locality  will  hereafter  be  known  as 
Cairn  Paint. 

Climbing  to  an  elevation,  I  had  a  good  view  of 
the  sea  over  a  radius  of  several  miles.  The  pros- 


EXPLORING  A  TEACK.  281 

pect  was  not  encouraging.  In  every  direction,  except 
immediately  down  the  coast  toward  Cape  Hatherton. 
the  ice  was  very  rough,  being  jammed  against  the 
shore  and  piled  up  over  the  sea  in  great  ridges,  which 
looked  rather  unpromising  for  sledges. 

The  view  decided  my  course  of  action.  Cairn  Point 
would  be  my  starting-place  if  I  crossed  the  Sound, 
and  a  most  convenient  position  for  a  depot  of  sup- 
plies in  the  event  of  being  obliged  to  hold  on  up  the 
Greenland  coast.  Accordingly,  I  took  from  the  sledges 
all  of  the  provisions  except  what  was  necessary  for  a 
six  days'  consumption,  and  discovering  a  suitable  cleft 
in  a  rock,  deposited  it  therein,  covering  it  over  with 
heavy  stones,  to  protect  it  from  the  bears,  intending 
to  proceed  up  the  coast  for  a  general  inspection  of  the 
condition  of  the  ice  on  the  Sound. 

These  various  operations  consumed  the  day ;  so  we 
fed  the  dogs  and  dug  into  another  snow-bank,  and  got 
through  another  night  after  the  fashion  of  Arctic  trav- 
elers, which  is  not  much  of  a  fashion  to  boast  of.  We 
slept  and  did  not  freeze,  and  more  than  this  we  did 
not  expect. 

The  next  day's  journey  was  made  with  light  sledges, 
but  it  was  much  more  tedious  than  the  two  days  pre- 
ceding ;  for  the  track  was  rough,  and  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  it  was  as  much  as  the  dogs  could  do 
to  get  through  the  hummocked  ice  with  nothing  on 
the  sledge  but  our  little  food  and  sleeping  gear.  As 
for  riding,  that  was  entirely  out  of  the  question.  Af- 
ter nine  hours  of  this  sort  of  work,  during  which  we 
made,  lightened  as  we  were,  not  over  twenty  miles, 
we  were  well  satisfied  to  draw  up  to  the  first  conven- 
ient snow-bank  for  another  nightly  burrow. 

Being  naturally  inclined  to  innovation,  I  had  busied 


282  A  NEW   STYLE  OF   SNOW-HUT. 

my  mind  all  through  the  day,  as  I  tumbled  among 
the  ice  and  the  drifts,  in  devising  some  better  plan 
of  hut  than  the  cavern  arrangement  of  the  nomadic 
Kalutunah.  The  snow-bank  which  I  selected  had  a 
square  side  about  five  feet  high.  Starting  on  the  top 
of  this,  we  dug  a  pit  about  six  feet  long,  four  and 
a  half  wide,  and  four  deep,  leaving  between  the  pit 
and  the  square  side  of  the  bank  a  wall  about  two  feet 
thick.  Over  the  top  of  this  pit  we  placed  one  of  the 
sledges,  over  the  sledge  the  canvas  apron  used,  while 
traveling,  to  inclose  the  cargo,  and  over  that  again 
we  shoveled  loose  snow  to  the  depth  of  some  three 
feet.  Then  we  dug  a  hole  into  this  inclosure  through 
the  thin  wall,  pushed  in  our  buffalo-skin  bedding,  and 
all  articles  penetrable  by  a  dog's  tooth  and  not  in- 
closed in  tin  cases,  (for  the  dogs  will  eat  any  thing, 
their  own  harness  included,)  then  a  few  blocks  of  hard 
snow,  and  finally  we  crawled  in  ourselves.  The  blocks 
of  snow  were  jammed  into  the  entrance,  and  we  were 
housed  for  the  night. 

Being  bound  on  a  short  journey,  I  thought  that  I 
could  afford  a  little  extra  weight,  and  carried  alcohol 
for  fuel,  as  this  is  the  only  fuel  that  can  be  used  in 
the  close  atmosphere  of  a  snow-hut.  A  ghastly  blue 
blaze  was  soon  flickering  in  our  faces,  and  in  our  single 
tin-kettle  some  snow  was  being  converted  into  water, 
and  then  the  water  began  to  hum,  and  then  after  a 
long  while  it  boiled,  (it  is  no  easy  matter  to  boil  water 
in  such  temperature  with  a  small  lamp,)  and  we  were 
refreshed  with  a  good  strong  pint  pot  of  tea ;  then 
the  tea-leaves  were  tossed  into  one  corner,  some  more 
snow  was  put  in  the  tea-kettle  and  melted,  and  out  of 
desiccated  beef  and  desiccated  potatoes  we  make  a 
substantial  hash  ;  and  when  this  was  disposed  of  we  lit 


COLD  LODGINGS.  283 

our  pipes,  rolled  up  in  our  buffaloes,  and  did  the  best 
we  could  for  the  balance  of  the  night. 

My  invention  did  not,  however,  turn  out  so  satis- 
factory as  was  expected.  The  hut,  if  more  commo- 
dious, and  admitting  of  a  little  movement  without 
knocking  down  the  loose  snow  all  over  us,  was 
much  colder  than  either  of  our  dens  of  the  Kalutu- 
nah  plan,  the  temperature  in  each  of  which  stood 
about  zero  through  the  night,  elevated  to  that  degree 
by  the  heat  radiated  from  our  own  persons,  and  from 
the  lamp  which  cooked  the  supper.  But  this  pit  un- 
der the  sledge  could  not  be  warmed  above  20°  below 
zero.  No  amount  of  coaxing  could  induce  the  ther- 
mometer to  rise. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  I  still  adhered  to  my  the- 
ory about  snow-huts,  and  I  very  unjustly  threw  the 
blame  on  Jensen  for  carelessness  in  the  construction  ; 
so  I  sent  him  out  to  pile  on  more  snow.  This  did  not 
mend  matters  in  the  least,  but  rather  made  them 
worse ;  for,  through  the  now  open  doorway,  what 
little  warmth  we  had  managed  to  get  up  made  its 
escape  ;  and  when  Jensen  came  back  and  we  shut 
ourselves  in  again,  the  temperature  was  — 35°,  and 
never  afterwards  reached  higher  than  — 30°.  Even 
Kalutunah  was  troubled  to  sleep,  and,  as  he  rubbed 
his  eyes  and  pounded  his  feet  together  to  keep  them 
from  freezing,  he  made  a  grimace  which  told  more 
plainly  than  words  in  what  low  estimation  he  held 
the  Nalegaksoak's  talents  for  making  snow-huts. 

The  cause  of  all  this  trouble  was,  however,  ex- 
plained next  morning.  The  hut  was  well  enough, 
and  I  stuck  ever  afterward  to  the  plan,  and  even 
Kalutunah  was  compelled  to  own  that  it  was  the  cor- 
rect thing.  It  was  perfectly  tight.  The  thermometer 


284  LOW  TEMPERATURE. 

told  the  story.  As  it  hung  against  the  snow  wall  I 
called  Jensen's  attention  to  it.  The  top  of  the  deli- 
cate red  streak  of  alcohol  stood  at  31°  below  zero. 

We  crawled  out  in  the  open  air  at  last,  to  try 
the  sunshine.  "  I  will  give  you  the  best  buflalo-skin 
in  the  ship,  Jensen,  if  the  air  outside  is  not  warmer 
than  in  that  den  which  you  have  left  so  full  of  holes." 
And  it  really  seemed  so.  Human  eye  never  lit  upon 
a  more  pure  and  glowing  morning.  The  sunlight  was 
sparkling  all  over  the  landscape  and  the  great  world 
of  whiteness;  and  the  frozen  plain,  the  hummocks,  the 
icebergs,  and  the  tall  mountains,  made  a  picture  in- 
viting to  the  eye.  Not  a  breath  of  air  was  stirring. 
Jensen  gave  in  without  a  murmur.  "  Well,  the  hut 
must  have  been  full  of  holes,  after  all ;  but  I  '11  fix  it 
next  time." 

I  brought  out  the  thermometer  and  set  it  up  in  the 
shadow  of  an  iceberg  near  by.  I  really  expected  to 
see  it  rise ;  but  no,  down  sank  the  little  red  column, 
down,  down,  almost  to  the  very  bulb,  and  it  never 
stopped  until  it  had  touched  68|°  below  zero,  — 100|° 
below  the  freezing  point  of  water.1 

I  do  not  recall  but  two  instances  of  equally  low 
temperature  having  been  previously  recorded,  one  of 
which,  by  Niveroff,  at  Yakoutsk,  in  Siberia,  was  — 72° 
of  the  Fahrenheit  scale.  I  am  not,  however,  aware 
that  any  traveler  has  ever  noted  so  low  a  tempera- 
ture while  in  the  field. 

It  struck  me  as  a  singular  circumstance  that  this 
great  depression  of  temperature  was  not  perceptible 
to  the  senses,  which  utterly  failed  to  give  us  even  so 
much  as  a  hint  that  here  in  this  blazing  sunlight  we 

1  It  is  worthy  of  observation  that  the  lowest  temperature  recorded  at 
Port  Foulke,  during  my  absence,  was  27°  below  zero. 


LOW  TEMPERATURE.  285 

were  experiencing  about  the  coldest  temperature  ever 
recorded.  But  this  would  have  held  good  only  in  the 
profound  calm  with  which  we  were  favored.  At  such 
low  temperature  the  least  wind  is  painful  and  even 
dangerous,  especially  if  the  traveler  is  compelled  to 
face  it.  It  is  also  a  singular  circumstance  that,  while 
the  sun's  rays,  penetrating  the  atmosphere,  seem  to 
impart  to  it  so  little  warmth,  they  are  powerful 
enough  to  blister  the  skin,  so  that  in  truth  the  oppo- 
site conditions  of  heat  —  positive  and  negative  —  are 
operating  upon  the  unfortunate  face  at  one  and  the 
same  time. 

The  effect  of  these  low  temperatures  upon  the  snow 
is  very  striking.  It  becomes  hardened  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  it  almost  equals  sand  in  grittiness,  and  the 
friction  to  the  sledge-runner  is  increased  accordingly. 
The  same  circumstance  was  noted  by  Baron  Wrangel, 
but  it  is  not  new  to  the  Esquimaux.  The  sledge  runs 
most  glibly  when  the  snow  is  slightly  wet.  To  ob- 
viate in  some  measure  the  difficulty  thus  occasioned, 
the  native  covers  the  sole  of  his  runner  with  moisture. 
Dissolving  in  his  mouth  a  piece  of  snow,  he  pours  it 
out  into  his  hand  and  coats  with  it  the  polished  ivory 
sole,  and  in  an  instant  he  has  formed  a  thin  film  of  ice 
to  meet  the  hardened  crystals.  Kalutunah  stopped 
frequently  for  this  purpose  ;  and,  upon  trying  the  ex- 
periment with  my  own  sledge,  I  found  it  to  work  ad- 
mirably, and  to  produce  a  very  perceptible  difference 
in  the  draft. 

It  would  be  needless  for  me  to  give  from  day  to 
day  the  details  of  this  journey.  As  I  have  said  be- 
fore, it  was  merely  experimental,  and  it  was  continued 
until  I  had  satisfied  myself  fully  that  the  route  north- 
ward by  the  Greenland  coast  was  wholly  impractica- 


286  KALUTUNAH  PUZZLED. 

ble.  The  condition  of  the  ice  \vas  very  different  from 
what  it  was  in  1853-54.  Then  the  coast  ice  was 
mainly  smooth,  and  the  hummocks  were  not  met  un- 
til we  had  gone  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  from  the 
shore.  Now  there  was  no  such  belt.  The  winter  had 
set  in  while  the  ice  was  crowding  upon  the  land,  and 
the  pressure  had  been  tremendous.  Vast  masses  were 
piled  up  along  the  track,  and  the  whole  sea  was  but 
one  confused  jumble  of  ice-fragments,  forced  up  by 
the  pressure  to  an  enormous  height,  and  frozen  to- 
gether in  that  position.  The  whole  scene  was  the 
Rocky  Mountains  on  a  small  scale ;  peak  after  peak, 
ridge  after  ridge,  spur  after  spur,  separated  by  deep 
valleys,  into  which  we  descended  over  a  rough  decliv- 
ity, and  then  again  ascended  on  the  other  side,  to 
cross  an  elevated  crest  and  repeat  the  operation. 
The  traveling  was  very  laborious.  It  was  but  an  end- 
less clambering  over  ice-masses  of  every  form  and 
size. 

Kalutunah  was  much  puzzled  to  understand  my 
object.  He  had  never  heard  of  a  journey  into  that 
region  except  to  catch  bears,  and  then  only  in  great 
emergencies;  and  when  bear-track  after  bear-track 
was  crossed  without  our  giving  chase,  he  became  even 
more  and  more  concerned.  He  had  a  double  motive, 
—  to  have  the  sport  and  to  see  the  effect  of  our  rifles ; 
but  none  of  the  tracks  were  fresh,  and  the  chase  would 
have  been  too  long  to  agree  with  my  purposes.  At 
length,  however,  we  came  to  a  trail  evidently  not  an 
hour  old,  and  which  we  might  have  pursued  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue,  for  the  tracks  were  made  by  a  mother 
and  a  small  cub.  Kalutunah  halted  his  team,  and  was 
loud  in  his  pleadings  for  leave  to  make  a  dash.  He 
irgued  for  the  sport,  for  the  skin  which  would  make 


SIGHTING   HUMBOLDT  GLACIER.  287 

the  Nalegaksoak  such  a  fine  coat,  for  his  wife  and 
children,  who  had  not  tasted  bear-meat  for  ever  so 
long  a  time,  and  finally  for  his  dogs.  "  See  how  un- 
happy they  are,"  said  he,  pointing  to  his  tired  team, 
which  seemed  to  possess  little  appreciation  of  the  elo- 
quence that  was  being  wasted  upon  them,  for  they 
had  all  fallen  down  in  their  tracks  as  soon  as  we  had 
halted  the  sledges.  Four  days  of  hauling  through 
drifts  and  hummocks  had  made  them  care  little  for  a 
bear-hunt. 

Despite  the  difficulties  of  the  traveling,  three  days 
more  brought  me  within  view  of  the  great  Hum- 
boldt  Glacier,  but  the  ice  was  becoming  worse  and 
worse,  the  icebergs  were  multiplying,  my  dogs  were 
being  worn  out  to  no  purpose  ;  and  much  as  I  should 
have  liked  to  continue  the  journey,  there  was  no  ob- 
ject to  be  gained  by  doing  so.  The  ground  had  been 
covered  by  Dr.  Kane's  parties,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  be  learned  further  than  I  had  experienced  already, 
namely,  that,  in  no  event,  could  I  get  my  boat  to  the 
polar  sea  in  this  direction.  Whether  I  could  do  any 
better  by  the  passage  across  the  Sound  to  Grinnell 
Land  remained  to  be  seen.  In  any  case,  this  last 
was  clearly  my  only  route. 

The  Humboldt  Glacier  was  visible  from  the  top  of 
an  iceberg.  It  revealed  itself  in  a  long  line  of  bluish 
whiteness.  Cape  Agassiz,  the  last  known  point  of  the 
Greenland  coast,  bounded  it  on  the  right,  and  to  the 
left  it  me-lted  away  in  the  remote  distance.  The  line 
of  its  trend  appeared  to  me  to  be  more  to  the  east- 
ward than  given  in  the  original  survey  of  Mr.  Bonnsall, 
of  Dr.  Kane's  expedition  ;  and,  although  of  little  prac- 
tical importance,  yet  this  circumstance,  coupled  with 
observations  hereafter  to  be  recorded,  have  caused  me 


288  FATE   OF   THE  "ADVANCE." 

to  deviate  somewhat,  in  the  small  chart  which  accom- 
panies this  volume,  from  the  chart  of  Dr.  Kane. 

The  coast  along  which  I  had  been  traveling  was  a 
succession  of  well-remembered  landmarks.  The  tall 
sandstone  cliffs  were  as  familiar  as  the  rows  of  lofty 
warehouses  and  stores  on  Broadway.  Both  up  and 
down  the  coast  I  had  gone  so  often  from  Van  Rens- 
selaer  Harbor  that  I  knew  every  point  of  land,  and 
gorge,  and  ravine  as  if  I  had  seen  them  but  yester- 
day. But  when  I  got  down  into  the  harbor  itself 
how  changed  was  every  thing  !  Instead  of  the  broad, 
smooth  ice  over  which  I  had  so  often  strolled,  there 
was  but  a  uniform  wilderness  of  hummocks.  In  the 
place  where  the  Advance  once  lay,  the  ice  was  piled  up 
nearly  as  high  as  were  her  mast-heads.  Fern  Rock 
was  almost  overridden  by  the  frightful  avalanche 
which  had  torn  down  into  the  harbor  from  the  north, 
and  the  locality  of  the  storehouse  on  Butler  Island 
was  almost  buried  out  of  sight.  No  vestige  of  the 
Advance  remained,  except  a  small  bit  of  a  deck-plank 
which  I  picked  up  near  the  site  of  the  old  Observa- 
tory. The  fate  of  the  vessel  is  of  course  a  matter 
only  of  conjecture.  When  the  ice  broke  up  —  it  may 
have  been  the  year  we  left  her  or  years  afterward  — 
she  was  probably  carried  out  to  sea  and  ultimately 
crushed  and  sunk.  From  the  Esquimaux  I  obtained 
many  contradictory  statements.  Indeed,  with  the 
best  intentions  in  the  world,  these  Esquimaux  have 
great  trouble  in  telling  a  straight  story.  Even  Kalu- 
tunah  is  not  to  be  depended  upon  if  there  is  the 
ghost  of  a  chance  for  invention.  He  had  been  to  the 
vessel,  but  at  one  time  it  was  one  year  and  then  again 
it  was  another ;  he  had  carried  off  much  wood,  as 
many  other  Esquimaux  had  done.  Another  Esqui- 


A  DRIVE  IN  A   GALE.  289 

man  had  seen  a  vessel  drifting  about  in  the  North 
Water  among  the  ice,  and  finally  it  was  sunk  in  the 
mouth  of  Wolstenholme  Sound.  This  was  four  sum- 
mers ago.  Another  had  seen  the  same  vessel,  but  the 
event  had  happened  only  two  years  before ;  while  still 
another  had  accidentally  set  fire  to  the  brig  and 
burned  her  up  where  she  lay  in  Van  Rensselaer  Har- 
bor. No  two  of  them  gave  the  same  account.  In- 
deed, one  of  them  asserted  quite  positively  that  the 
vessel  had  drifted  down  into  the  bay  below,  was  there 
frozen  up  the  next  winter,  and  he  had  there  boarded 
her  when  on  a  bear-hunt.  Kalutunah  had  nothing 
positive  to  say  on  the  subject,  but  he  rather  inclined 
to  the  story  of  the  burning. 

Every  object  around  me  was  filled  with  old  associa- 
tions, some  pleasant  and  some  painful.  I  visited  the 
graves  of  Baker  and  the  jovial  cook,  Pierre,  and 
looked  for  the  pyramid  which  Dr.  Kane  mentions  as 
"  our  beacon  and  their  tomb-stone,"  but  it  was  scat- 
tered over  the  rocks,  and  the  conspicuous  cross  which 
had  been  painted  on  its  southern  face  was  only  here 
and  there  shown  by  a  stone  with  a  white  patch 
upon  it. 

On  our  homeward  journey  we  camped  again  at 
Cairn  Point,  and  made  there  a  long  halt,  as  I  desired 
to  get  another  view,  from  a  loftier  position  than  be- 
fore. Jensen  was  fortunate  enough  to  shoot  a  deer, 
and  our  weary  and  battered  dogs  were  refreshed  with 
it.  Thence  to  the  schooner  was  one  of  the  wildest 
rides  that  I  remember  ever  to  have  made.  A  terrible 
gale  of  wind  set  upon  us,  and,  with  the  thermometer 
at  — 52°,  it  carried  a  sting  with  it.  The  drifting  snow 
was  battering  us  at  a  furious  rate  ;  but  the  dogs,  with 
their  heads  turned  homeward,  did  their  best,  and  the 
thirty  miles  were  made  in  three  and  a  half  hours. 
ia 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

SENDING  FORWARD  SUPPLIES.—  KALUTUNAH  AS  A  DRIVER.  —  KALUTUNAH  CIV- 
ILIZED.—MR.  KNORR.  —  PLAN  OF  MY  PROPOSED  JOURNEY.  —  PREPARING  TO 
SET  OUT.  — INDUSTRIOUS  ESQUIMAU  WOMEN.— DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  KAB- 
LUNET.  — THE  START. 

DURING  the  next  few  days  the  dog-sledges  were 
going  and  coming  between  the  schooner  and  Cairn 
Point  continually,  carrying  to  the  latter  place  the 
stores  needed  for  our  summer  campaign.  The  tem- 
perature still  held  very  low,  and  I  did  not  deem  it 
prudent  to  send  out  a  foot  party.  I  knew  by  former 
experience  how  important  it  is  for  a  commander  to 
keep  inexperienced  men  under  his  own  eye,  for  one 
frozen  man  will  demoralize  a  dozen,  and  a  frosted  foot 
is  as  contagious  as  the  small-pox. 

Kalutunah's  team  was  turned  over  to  Mr.  Knorr, 
and  in  doing  this  I  gratified  both  parties  and  served 
my  own  interests.  The  novelty  of  serving  me,  and 
of  traveling  with  me,  had  by  this  time  worn  off,  and 
I  could  plainly  see  that  the  chief  was  quite  as  well 
satisfied  to  remain  with  his  wife  and  babies  as  to  trust 
himself  to  the  uncertain  fortunes  of  the  ice-fields, 
more  especially  as  his  curiosity  to  see  how  this  man 
that  he  called  the  big  chief  behaved  himself  had  been 
fully  gratified.  The  recent  journey  had  convinced 
him  that  I  was  fully  entitled  to  his  respect,  since  I  did 
not  freeze,  and  altogether  conducted  myself  as  well  as 
an  Esquimau  would  have  done  under  like  circuin- 


KALUTUNAH   CIVILIZED.  291 

stances ;  and  this  was  a  great  deal  in  his  eyes.  It 
was  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  Kalutunah  started 
with  me  expecting  to  take  me  under  his  protecting 
wing  ;  and  if  he  did  not  have  the  pleasing  satisfaction 
of  seeing  me  groaning  with  the  cold,  at  least  he  should 
have  the  opportunity  to  instruct  me  how  to  live  and 
how  to  travel ;  but  when  I  began  to  instruct  him,  and 
turned  the  tables  on  him,  he  was  much  disappointed  ; 
and  when  to  this  violation  of  propriety  I  added  the 
still  more  unpardonable  offense  of  refusing  him  a  bear- 
hunt,  his  enthusiasm  oozed  out  very  rapidly  ;  and  if 
he  admired  the  Nalegaksoak  the  more  he  desired  to 
follow  him  the  less,  particularly  as  the  dangers  of 
the  service  preponderated  over  the  emoluments.  In- 
deed, the  fellow  was  disposed  to  avail  himself  fully  of 
the  advantages  of  his  new  situation,  and  I  soon  made 
up  my  mind  that  he  was  henceforth  a  pensioner  upon 
my  bounty,  so  I  doubled  his  riches  and  made  him 
the  happiest  Esquimau  that  ever  was  seen.  My  thor- 
oughly energetic,  dtiring  and  skillful  hunter,  who 
prided  himself  upon  the  excellence  of  his  equipments 
and  the  abundance  of  his  supplies,  for  once  in  his  life 
found  himself  so  situated  that  he  was  freed  from  all 
necessity  of  giving  thought  to  the  morrow.  It  was 
truly  a  novel  sensation,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
he  should  wish  to  enjoy  the  short-lived  holiday.  He 
was  greatly  amused,  —  amused  with  himself,  amused 
with  the  Nalegaksoak  who  had  made  him  so  rich  and 
allowed  him  to  be  so  lazy,  and  amused  with  the  white 
man's  dress  with  which  he  was  bedecked,  and  in  which 
he  cut  such  a  sorry  figure.  His  face  was  never  with- 
out a  full-blown  grin.  I  gave  him  a  looking-glass,  and 
he  carried  it  about  with  him  continually,  looking  at 
himself  and  laughing  at  his  head  with  a  cap  on  it,  and 


292  KALUTUNAH   UNCIVILIZED. 

at  his  red" shirt  which  dangled  beneath  an  old  coat.  It 
was  all  very  fine  and  very  wonderful.  "  Don't  I  look 
pretty?"  was  the  poser  which  he  put  to  everybody. 

But  this  pleasing  state  of  mind  into  which  he  had 
been  thrown  by  this  new  style  of  costume  was  doomed 
to  be  shortlived.  The  novelty  wore  off  in  a  few  days. 
It  ceased  to  amuse  him ;  and  he  discovered,  no  doubt, 
that  in  gratifying  his  vanity  he  was  vexing  the  flesh. 
One  day  he  appeared  on  board  in  his  old  suit  of  furs. 
"What  has  become  of  the  cap  and  red  shirt  and  coat?" 
"  Oh !  I  tumbled  into  the  water,  and  my  wife  is  drying 
them  ! "  The  truth  leaked  out  afterward  that  he  had 
gone  home,  changed  the  white  man's  finery  for  the 
cold-resisting  fox-skins,  and  had  chucked  the  whole 
suit  among  the  rocks. 

Kalutunah's  team  fell  to  Mr.  Knorr  from  sheer  ne- 
cessity, since  there  was  no  one  else  in  the  ship  except 
Hans  who  could  handle  the  whip.  Knorr,  with  com- 
mendable foresight,  had  commenced  his  exercises  early 
in  the  winter,  plainly  foreseeing  that  his  chances  of 
accompanying  me  throughout  my  northern  journey 
were  not  likely  to  be  diminished  by  knowing  how  to 
drive  dogs.  The  labor  properly  devolved  upon  one 
of  the  sailors ;  but  the  field  was  open  to  all  alike ; 
and  the  young  gentleman,  finding  that  official  dig- 
nity stood  in  the  way  of  his  ambition,  with  a  spirit 
which  I  was  not  slow  to  appreciate,  did  not  long  hesi- 
tate in  his  choice. 

I  have  elsewhere  mentioned  that  the  labor  of  driv- 
ing dogs  is  not  an  easy  one.  Indeed,  of  all  the  mem- 
bers of  my  party,  Mr.  Knorr  was  the  only  one  who 
succeeded  well.  Even  in  Southern  Greenland,  among 
the  Danes  long  resident  there,  it  is  rare  to  find  a  skill- 
ful driver.  Neither  of  the  sailors,  Carl  nor  Christian, 


PREPARING  TO   START.  293 

whom  I  had  taken  from  Upernavik,  could  throw  the 
lash  anywhere  else  than  about  their  legs,  or  into  the 
face  of  whomsoever  might  happen  to  sit  upon  the 
sledge.  As  for  hitting  a  dog,  they  could  scarcely  do 
it  by  any  chance. 

My  recent  journey  had  decided  my  course  of  ac- 
tion. The  last  view  which  I  had  from  the  top  of  the 
lofty  cliff  behind  Cairn  Point  convinced  me  that  my 
only  chance  for  the  season  Was  to  cross  the  Sound 
from  that  place,  for  my  observations  up  the  Greenland 
coast  had  shown  me,  as  has  been  already  observed,  the 
impracticability  of  reaching  the  Polar  Sea  by  that 
route.  McCormick  had  immediate  charge  of  the  work 
of  preparation,  and  pushing  every  thing  forward  with 
his  customary  energy,  we  were  ready  to  start  before 
the  close  of  March.  But  the  temperature  still  contin- 
ued to  range  too  low  for  safety,  and  I  only  awaited  a 
rise  of  the  thermometer.  Our  little  community  was 
now  full  of  life  and  business. 

The  Esquimaux  were  not  an  unimportant  element 
in  the  hive.  The  most  useful  service  came,  however, 
from  the  ancient  dames  who  presided  over  the  domes- 
tic affairs  of  the  snow  house  and  the  hut  at  Etah. 
They  were  sewing  for  us  constantly,  and  were  proba- 
bly the  first  women  in  the  world  who  ever  grew  rich 

"  Plying  the  needle  and  thread." 

But  misfortune  fell  at  length  within  the  snow-hut. 
Poor  old  Kablunet,  the  voluble  and  kind-hearted  and 
industrious  wife  of  Tcheitchenguak,  took  sick.  Her 
disease  was  pneumonia,  and  it  ran  its  course  with 
great  rapidity.  All  my  medicines  and  all  my  efforts 
to  save  her  were  of  no  avail,  and  she  died  on  the 
fourth  day.  This  unhappy  event  had  nearly  de- 


294  AN  ESQUIMAU   FUNERAL. 

stroyed  my  prestige  as  a  Narkosak,  and  indeed  it 
would  have  done  so  completely  had  it  not  been  for 
the  fortunate  occurrence  of  an  auroral  display,  during 
which  time  Jensen,  whom  my  journal  mentions  as  "  a 
convenient  and  useful  man,"  informed  the  Esquimaux 
that  the  white  man's  medicine  will  not  operate.  And 
thus  was  saved  my  reputation.  She  died  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  evening ;  at  six  she  was  sewed  up  in  a  seal-skin 
winding-sheet,  and  before  it  was  yet  cold  the  body 
was  carried  on  Hans's  sledge  to  a  neighboring  gorge 
and  there  buried  among  the  rocks  and  covered  with 
heavy  stones.  The  only  evidences  of  sorrow  or  regret 
were  manifested  by  her  daughter,  Merkut,  the  wife  of 
Hans,  and  these  appeared  to  be  dictated  rather  from 
custom  than  .affection.  Merkut  remained  by  the 
grave  after  the  others  had  departed,  and  for  about  an 
hour  she  walked  around  and  around  it,  muttering  in  a 
low  voice  some  praises  of  the  deceased.  At  the  head 
of  the  grave  she  then  placed  the  knife,  needles,  and 
sinew  which  her  mother  had  recently  been  using,  and 
the  last  sad  rites  to  the  departed  savage  were  per- 
formed. Tcheitchenguak  came  over  and  told  me 
that  there  was  no  longer  anybody  to  keep  his  lamp 
burning,  and  that  his  hut  was  cold,  and  with  a  very 
sorrowful  face  he  begged  to  be  allowed  to  live  with 
Hans.  My  consent  given,  that  of  Hans  was  not 
deemed  necessary;  and  so  the  snow-hut  became  de- 
serted, and  the  cheerful  family  that  had  there  dis- 
pensed a  rude  hospitality  was  broken  up  ;  and  the 
"  house  of  feasting  "  had  become  a  "  house  of  mourn- 
ing," and  Tcheitchenguak  had  come  away  from  it  to 
finish  alone  his  little  remaining  span  of  life.  Old  and 
worn  down  by  a  hard  struggle  for  existence,  he  was 
now  dependent  upon  a  generation  which  cared  little 


THE  FIELD  PARTY.  295 

for  him,  while  she  who  alone  could  have  soothed  the 
sorrows  of  his  declining  years  had  gone  away  before 
him  to  the  far-off  island  where  the  Great  Spirit,  Torn- 
gasoak  the  Mighty,  regales  the  happy  souls  with  an 
endless  feast  on  the  ever  green  banks  of  the  bound- 
less lake,  where  the  ice  is  never  seen  and  the  darkness 
is  never  known,  —  where  the  sunshine  is  eternal,  in 
the  summer  of  bliss  that  is  everlasting,  —  the  Uper- 
nak  that  has  no  end. 

The  temperature  having  somewhat  moderated,  I 
determined  to  set  out  in  the  evening  of  the  third  of 
April.  Although  the  sun  had  not  yet  reached  the 
horizon  at  midnight,  there  was  quite  light  enough  for 
my  purposes,  and  by  traveling  in  the  night  instead  of 
the  day  we  would  have  greater  warmth  while  in  camp, 
which  is  really  the  time  of  greatest  danger  from  the 
cold ;  for  when  on  the  march  men  have  usually  little 
difficulty  in  keeping  warm,  even  at  the  lowest  temper- 
atures, provided  there  is  no  wind.  Besides  this,  there 
is  still  another  difficulty  obviated.  The  constant  glare 
of  the  mid-day  sun  is  a  very  severe  tax  upon  the  eye, 
and  great  caution  is  needed  to  guard  against  that 
painful  and  inconvenient  disease  known  as  "  snow- 
blindness."  In  order  to  protect  my  men  against  it, 
as  much  as  possible,  I  had  supplied  each  of  them  with 
a  pair  of  blue-glass  goggles. 

My  field  party  consisted  of  every  available  officer 
and  man  in  the  schooner,  twelve  in  number.  We 
were  all  ready  to  start  at  seven  o'clock ;  and  when  I 
joined  them  on  the  ice  beside  the  schooner  their  ap- 
pearance was  as  picturesque  as  it  was  animated.  In 
advance  stood  Jensen,  impatiently  rolling  out  his  long 
whip-lash ;  and  his  eight  dogs,  harnessed  to  his  sledge, 
''The  Hope,"  were  as  impatient  as  he.  Next  came 


296  THE   START. 

Knorr  with  six  dogs  and  the  "  Perseverance,"  to  the 
upstander  of  which  he  had  tied  a  little  blue  flag  bear- 
ing this,  his  motto.  "  Toujours  pret." ^  Then  came  a 
lively  group  of  eight  men,  each  with  a  canvas  belt 
across  his  shoulder,  to  which  was  attached  a  line  that 
fastened  him  to  the  sledge.  Alongside  the  sledge 
stood  McCormick  and  Dodge,  ready  to  steer  it  among 
the  hummocks,  and  on  the  sledge  was  mounted  a 
twenty-foot  metallic  life-boat  with  which  I  hoped  to 
navigate  the  Polar  Sea.  The  mast  was  up  and  the 
sails  were  spread,  and  from  the  peak  floated  our  boat's 
ensign,  which  had  seen  service  in  two  former  Arctic 
and  in  one  Antarctic  voyage,  and  at  the  mast-head 
were  run  up  the  Masonic  emblems.  Our  little  sig- 
nal-flag was  stuck  in  the  stern-sheets.  The  sun  was 
shining  brightly  into  the  harbor,  and  everybody  was 
filled  with  enthusiasm,  and  ready  for  the  hard  pull 
that  was  to  come.  Cheer  after  cheer  met  me  as  I 
came  down  the  stairway  from  the  deck.  At  a  given 
signal  Radcliffe,  who  was  left  in  charge  of  the  vessel, 
touched  off  the  "  swivel,"  "  March,"  cried  McCormick, 
crack  went  the  whips,  the  dogs  sprang  into  their  col- 
lars, the  men  stretched  their  "track  ropes,"  and  the 
cavalcade  moved  off 

The  events  which  follow  I  will  give  from  my  "  field- 
book,"  trusting  that  the  reader  will  have  sufficient 
interest  in  my  party  to  accompany  them  through  the 
icy  wilderness  into  which  they  plunged ;  but  for  this 
we  will  need  a  new  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

HIE  FIRST  DAY'S  JOURNEY. —A  FALL  OF  TEMPERATURE.  —  ITS  EFFECT  UPON 
THE  MEN.— CAMPED  IN  A  SNOW-HUT.—  THE  SECOND  DAY'S  JOURNEY.— 
AT  CAIRN  POINT.  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ICE.  — THE  PROSPECT.  — STORM- 
STAYED.  —  THE  COOKS  IN  DIFFICULTY.  —  SNOW-DRIFT.  —  VIOLENCE  OF  THK 

GALE.  — OUR  SNOW-HUT. 

• 

April  4th. 

BURIED  in  a  snow-bank,  and  not  over  well  pleased 
with  my  first  day's  work.  The  temperature  of  the  air 
has  tumbled  down  to  — 32,°  and  inside  the  hut  it  is 
now,  two  hours  after  entering  it,  a  degree  above  zero, 
and  steadily  rising.  Three  of  the  party  succumbed  to 
the  cold  on  the  march,  and  I  had  much  difficulty  in 
keeping  them  from  being  seriously  frozen.  We  got  on 
finely  until  we  reached  Sunrise  Point,  where  the  ice  was 
very  rough,  and  we  were  bothered  for  more  than  two 
hours  in  getting  over  it  with  our  long  and  cumber- 
some boat  and  sledge.  It  was  probably  only  a  little 
foretaste  of  what  is  to  come  when  we  strike  across 
the  Sound.  Once  over  this  ugly  place,  we  halted  to 
melt  some  water,  for  the  men  had  become  very  warm 
and  thirsty.  Unluckily,  just  at  this  time  a  smart 
breeze  sprung  up,  chilling  us  through  and  through, 
for  we  had  been  perspiring  freely  with  the  violent  ex- 
ercise. The  first  cold  blast  put  an  extinguisher  upon 
the  enthusiasm  which  the  party  had  carried  along 
with  them  from  the  ship,  and  it  was  singular  to  ob- 
serve the  change  which  came  over  their  spirits.  It 
was  the  contrast  of  champagne  and  sour  cider.  Some 


298  THE  FIRST  DAY'S  JOURNEY. 

of  them  looked  as  if  they  were  going  to  their  own 
funerals,  and  wore  that  "  My  God  !  what  shall  I  do  ? " 
look  that  would  have  been  amusing  enough  had  it  not 
been  alarming.  One  of  these,  without  sufficient  energy 
to  keep  himself  in  motion,  crouched  behind  a  snow- 
drift, and  when  discovered  he  had  squarely  settled 
himself  for  a  freeze.  In  half  an  hour  his  inclination 
would  have  been  accomplished.  When  I  came  up  to 
him  he  said  very  coolly,  and  with  a  tone  of  resigna- 
tion worthy  a  martyr,  "I  'm  freezing."  His  fingers 
and  toes  were  already  as  white  as  a  tallow-candle. 
There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  I  rubbed  a  little  circu- 
lation back  into  them,  and,  placing  him  in  charge  of 
two  men  with  orders  to  keep  him  moving,  I  saved 
him  from  the  serious  consequences  which  would  oth- 
erwise have  resulted  from  his  faint-heartedness.  With- 
out waiting  for  more  of  the  coveted  drops  of  water, 
I  pushed  on  for  the  first  snow-bank,  and  got  my  party 
out  of  the  wind  and  under  cover.  But  this  was  not 
done  without  difficulty.  It  seemed  as  if  two  or  three 
of  them  were  possessed  with  a  heroic  desire  to  die  on 
the  spot,  and  I  really  believe  that  they  would  have 
done  it  cheerfully  rather  than,  of  their  own  accord, 
seize  a  shovel  and  aid  in  constructing,  if  not  a  place 
of  comfort,  at  least  a  place  of  rest  and  safety.  This 
sort  of  thing  at  the  start  is  not  encouraging,  but  I 
cannot  say  that  I  am  much  surprised  at  it ;  for  my 
former  experience  has  shown  the  hazard  of  exposing 
men  in  the  wind  in  such  low 'temperatures.  This, 
however,  is  one  of  those  things  against  which  no  fore- 
sight can  provide.  No  serious  consequences  appear 
to  have  resulted  from  the  event,  and  the  sufferers  are 
growing  more  comfortable  as  the  temperature  of  the 
hut  rises.  We  have  had  our  rude  camp  supper,  and 


AT  CAIRN  POINT.  299 

I  have  started  an  alcohol  lamp  ;  the  door  is  closed 
tightly ;  the  party  are  all  drawn  under  the  sleeping- 
furs  ;  the  plucky  ones  smoke  their  pipes,  and  the  bal- 
ance of  them  shiver  as  if  they  would  grow  warm  with 
the  exercise.  The  chattering  of  teeth  is  not  pleasant 
music. 

April  5th. 

Under  the  snow  again  near  Cape  Hatherton.  Our 
halt  at  the  last  camp  was  continued  for  eighteen 
hours,  until  the  men  had  got  fairly  thawed  out,  and 
the  wind  had  entirely  subsided.  The  short  march 
hence  was  made  slowly  and  steadily,  as  I  do  not  wish 
at  first  to  urge  upon  the  men  too  much  work,  nor  to 
keep  them  long  exposed  to  the  cold.  There  are  no 
frost-bites  of  consequence  resulting  from  the  exposure 
of  yesterday.  The  spirits  of  the  party  have  some- 
what revived.  The  temperature  has  risen,  and  the 
hut  is  warmer  than  that  of  last  night,  —  that  is,  my 
thermometer,  hanging  from  the  runner  of  the  sledge 
over  my  head  shows  10°  above  zero. 

April  6th. 

We  have  reached  Cairn  Point,  and  are  comfortably 
housed.  The  men  have  come  up  to  the  work  reason- 
ably well.  The  depression  of  spirits  which  followed 
the  blast  of  cold  wind  that  overtook  us  above  Sunrise 
Point  has  passed  away,  and  all  hands  are  gay  and 
lively.  I  had  no  need  to  urge  or  instruct  or  use  the 
snow-shovel  myself  at  this  camp.  The  weak  in  spirit 
have  profited  by  their  lessons,  and  have  learned  that 
in  providing  for  one's  comfort  and  safety  on  the  ice- 
fields the  shovel  materially  assists  appeals  to  Heaven, 
—  a  very  wholesome  change,  and,  as  a  result  of  it,  in- 
stead of  being  upward  of  two  hours  in  constructing 
our  hut,  as  on  the  first  night,  we  have  this  time  ac- 


300  THE   PROSPECT. 

coraplished  the  task  in  less  than  one,  and  everybody 
seemed  ambitious  of  doing  the  work  in  the  shortest 
possible  space  of  time. 

The  traveling  to-day  has  been  very  fair  for  the  dog- 
sledges,  but  very  bad  for  the  boat.  It  runs  easily 
enough  on  the  smooth  surface,  but  dragging  its  long 
length  over  a  snow-drift  even  four  feet  deep,  or,  worse 
still,  over  hummocks  even  half  as  high,  is  a  trouble- 
some task ;  and  we  have  crossed  many  strips  of  rough 
ice  to-day  which  could  not  be  passed  until  we  had 
broken  a  track.  In  consequence  of  this  we  were 
obliged  to  leave  some  of  the  load  behind,  especially 
as  I  wished  to  reach  Cairn  Point  before  camping. 
Knorr  and  Jensen  had  already  cached  one  of  their 
cargoes  of  March  at  Cape  Hatherton,  and  this  was 
left  with  it.  It  will  cost  us  a  day's  labor  to  bring 
it  up. 

The  difficulties  in  transporting  the  boat  among  the 
hummocks,  and  the  very  light  load  which  either  the 
men  or  dogs  can  carry  over  the  broken  ice,  as  shown 
by  this  day's  experience,  convince  me  that  the  boat 
and  cargo  can  hardly  be  transported  to  the  west  coast 
at  one  journey ;  and  I  have  therefore  concluded  to 
leave  the  boat  here  for  the  present,  at  least  until  the 
track  is  further  explored,  and  set  out  with  the  two 
dog-sledges  and  a  foot  party  dragging  the  other 
sledge,  laden  with  such  stores  as  they  can  carry,  for 
a  depot  on  Grinnell  Land.  I  can  at  any  time  send 
the  party  back  for  the  boat ;  and  if  it  should  turn  out 
that  the  boat  cannot  be  got  across  the  Sound,  then  I 
shall,  in  any  event,  have  a  depot  of  supplies  for  my 
explorations  over  the  ice  with  the  dog-sledges,  before 
the  thaw  of  June  and  July  shall  have  put  an  end  to 
that  species  of  traveling. 


STORM-STAYED.  301 

The  track  before  me  looks  unpromising  enough. 
After  the  party  was  housed,  I  climbed  up  to  a  consid- 
erable eminence,  and  have  had  the  melancholy  satis- 
faction of  looking  out  over  the  ugliest  scene  that  my 
eye  has  ever  chanced  to  rest  upon.  There  was  noth- 
ing inviting  in  it.  Except  a  few  miles  of  what  has 
evidently,  up  to  a  very  late  period  of  the  fall,  been 
open  water,  which  has  frozen  suddenly,  there  is  not  a 
rod  of  smooth  ice  in  sight.  The  whole  Sound  appears 
to  have  been  filled  with  ice  of  the  most  massive  de- 
scription, which,  broken  up  into  a  moving  "  pack  "  in 
the  summer,  has  come  down  upon  this  Greenland 
coast  with  the  southerly  setting  current,  and  has  piled 
up  all  over  the  sea  in  a  confused  jumble.  I  know 
what  it  is  from  having  crossed  it  in  1854  ;  and  if  it 
is  as  bad  now  as  then  (and  it  appears  to  be  much 
worse)  there  is  every  prospect  of  a  severe  tussle. 

April  7th. 

Did  anybody  ever  see  such  capricious  weather  as 
this  of  Smith  Sound  ?  It  is  the  torment  of  my  life 
and  the  enemy  of  my  plans.  I  can  never  depend 
upon  it.  It  is  the  veriest  flirt  that  ever  owned  Dame 
Nature  for  a  mother. 

We  camped  in  a  calm  atmosphere,  but  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night  —  bang!  —  down  came  a  bugle-blast 
of  Boreas,  and  then  the  old  god  blew  and  blew  as  if  he 
had  never  blown  in  all  his  life  before,  and  wanted 
to  prove  what  he  could  do.  We  could  hardly  show 
our  noses  out  of  doors,  and  have  lain  huddled  to- 
gether in  this  snow  den  all  day,  —  a  doleful  sort 
of  imprisonment.  It  is  with  much  difficulty  that 
we  have  got  any  thing  to  eat,  and  we  never  should  if 
I  had  not  turned  cook  myself,  and  shown  these  inno- 


502  THE    COOKS  IN   DIFFICULTY. 

cents  of  mine  how  to  keep  the  furnace-larnp  from 
being  blown  out ;  for  we  can  use  only  lard  for  fuel, 
and  the  smoke  is  so  great  that  we  cannot  have  the 
cooking  done  inside.  It  seems  to  me  that  nothing 
takes  the  wits  out  of  a  man  so  quickly  as  the  cold. 
The  cooks  had  not  sense  enough  left  to  inclose 
themselves  in  a  snow  wall,  and  I  had  to  teach  them 
how  to  keep  up  the  proper  proportion  of  lard  and 
rope-yarns  in  the  lamp  to  prevent  the  flame  from 
smothering  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  being  whiffed 
out  on  the  other.  We  were  more  than  two  hours  in 
making  a  pot  of  coffee,  and  came  in  out  of  the  pelt- 
ing snow-drift  with  our  furs  all  filled  with  it ;  and 
now  it  melts,  and  the  clothing  is  getting  damp,  for  we 
do  not  change  our  dress  when  we  crawl  in  between 
our  buffalo-skin  sheets. 

April  8th. 

Could  any  thing  be  more  aggravating  ?  The  gale 
holds  on  and  keeps  us  close  prisoners.  My  people 
could  no  more  live  in  it  than  in  a  fiery  furnace.  I 
never  saw  any  thing  like  it.  Last  night  it  fell  warmer, 
and  snowed,  which  gave  us  encouragement ;  but  the 
wind  blew  afterward  more  fiercely  than  ever,  and  hu- 
man eye  never  beheld  such  sights.  There  was  no- 
where any  thing  else  but  flying  snow.  The  sun's  face 
was  blinded,  and  the  hills  and  coast  were  hidden  com- 
pletely out 'of  sight.  Once  in  a  while  we  can  see  the 
ghost  of  an  iceberg,  but  that  is  rarely.  We  tried  to 
brave  it  yesterday,  and  again  to-day,  for  1  wanted  to 
go  down  to  Cape  Hatherton  to  bring  up  our  cargo 
there.  So  we  commenced  tearing  down  the  hut  to 
get  at  the  sledge ;  but  ten  minutes  convinced  me  that 
half  the  party  would  freeze  outright  if  we  undertook 
to  face  the  storm,  and  I  sent  the  flock  again  under 


IN   A   SNOW   BANK.  303 

cover,  and  went  behind  the  snow  wall  to  help  the 
cooks  with  their  fire. 

The  poor  dogs  were  almost  buried  out  of  sight. 
They  had  all  crouched  together  in  a  heap ;  and  as  the 
drift  accumulated  over  them  they  poked  their  heads 
further  and  further  up  into  it ;  and  when  I  came  to 
count  them  to  see  if  any  had  left  us  and  run  back  to 
the  ship  or  been  frozen  to  death,  it  was  truly  count- 
ing noses.  There  were  fourteen  of  them. 

It  seems  rather  strange  to  be  writing  on  at  this  rate 
in  a  snow-hut,  but  the  truth  is  I  have  no  more  trouble 
in  writing  here  than  if  I  were  in  my  cabin.  The  tem- 
perature has  come  up  almost  to  the  freezing  point, 
and  it  is  a  great  relief  to  write.  What  else  should  I 
do  ?  I  have  two  small  books  which  I  have  brought 
along  for  just  such  emergencies  as  this,  and  while 
my  companions  play  cards  and  bet  gingerbread  and 
oyster  suppers  and  bottles  of  rum  to  be  paid  in  Bos- 
ton, I  find  nothing  better  to  do  than  read  and  write  ; 
and,  since  I  cannot  remain  unoccupied,  but  must  kill 
time  in  some  manner,  or  else  sleep,  suppose  I  describe 
this  den  in  the  snow-bank. 

It  is  a  pit  eighteen  feet  long  by  eight  wide  and 
four  deep.  Over  the  top  of  said  pit  are  placed  the 
boat-oars,  to  support  the  sledge,  which  is  laid  across 
them ;  and  over  the  sledge  is  thrown  the  boat's  sail ; 
and  over  the  sail  is  thrown  loose  snow.  In  one  end 
of  the  den  thus  formed  there  is  a  hole,  through  which 
we  crawl  in,  and  which  is  now  filled  up  tightly  with 
blocks  of  snow.  Over  the  floor  (if  the  term  is  admis- 
sible) there  is  spread  a  strip  of  India-rubber  cloth ; 
over  this  cloth  a  strip  of  buffalo-skins,  which  are  all 
squared  and  sewed  together ;  and  over  this  again 
another  just  like  it.  When  we  want  to  sleep  wo 


304  THIRTEEN  IN   A   BED. 

draw  ourselves  underneath  the  upper  one  of  these 
buffalo  strips,  and  accommodate  ourselves  to  the  very 
moderate  allowance  of  space  assigned  to  each  person 
as  best  we  can.  The  post  of  honor  is  at  the  end 
furthest  from  the  door ;  and,  except  the  opposite  end, 
this  post  of  honor  is  the  least  desirable  of  all  other 
places,  for,  somehow  or  other,  the  twelve  sleepers  be- 
low me  manage  to  pull  the  "  clothes "  off  and  leave 
me  jammed  against  the  snow  wall,  with  nothing  on 
me  but  my  traveling  gear ;  for  we  go  to  bed  without 
change  of  costume  except  our  boots  and  stockings, 
which  we  tuck  under  our  heads  to  help  out  a  pillow, 
while  what  we  call  "  reindeer  sleeping  stockings " 
take  their  place  on  the  feet.  And,  furthermore,  there 
is  not  much  that  I  can  say.  This  can  hardly  be  called 
comfort.  I  have  a  vague  remembrance  of  having 
slept  more  soundly  than  I  have  done  these  last  four 
nights,  and  of  having  rested  upon  something  more 
agreeable  to  the  "  quivering  flesh  "  than  this  bed  of 
snow,  the  exact  sensations  communicated  by  which 
are  positively  indescribable, —  a  sort  of  cross  between 
a  pine  board  and  a  St.  Lawrence  gridiron.  And  yet 
the  people  are  busy  and  merry  enough.  Harris,  one 
of  my  most  energetic  and  ambitious  men,  is  sewing  a 
patch  on  his  seal-skin  pantaloons,  stopping  "  a  hole  to 
keep  the  winds  away  ;  "  Miller,  another  spirited  and 
careful  man,  is  closing  up  a  rip  in  his  Esquimau  boot ; 
and  Carl,  who  has  a  fine  tenor  voice,  has  just  finished  a 
sailor's  song,  and  is  clearing  his  throat  for  "  The  Bold 
Soldier  Boy."  Several  packs  of  cards  are  in  requisi- 
tion, and  altogether  we  are  rather  a  jolly  party, —  the 
veriest  Mark  Tapleys  of  travelers.  We  are  leading  a 
novel  sort  of  life,  and  I  can  imagine  that  the  time  will 
come  when  I  shall  turn  over  the  pages  of  this  diary 


THE   SOURCE   OF   HAPPINESS.  305 

and  be  amused  at  the  strangeness  of  the  contrast  of 
these  events  with  the  humdrum  routine  of  ordinary 
existence.  I-  have  no  doubt  that  I  shall  then  wonder 
if  this  is  not  all  set  down  in  a  dream,  so  singular  will 
it  appear  ;  and  yet  so  quickly  do  the  human  body  and 
the  human  mind  accommodate  themselves  to  the 
changing  circumstances  of  life  that,  in  every  thing 
we  do,  the  events  seem  at  the  time  always  natural, 
and  cause  us  no  astonishment ;  still,  when  we  review 
the  past,  we  are  continually  amazed  that  we  have  un- 
dergone so  many  transformations,  and  can  scarcely 
recognize  ourselves  in  our  chamelion  dresses.  If  it 
should  ever  again  be  my  luck  to  eat  canvas-back  at 
Delmonico's  I  shall  no  doubt  very  heartily  despise  the 
dried  beef  and  potato  hash  which  now  constitute,  with 
bread  and  coffee,  my  only  fare ;  and  yet  no  canvas- 
back  was  ever  enjoyed  as  much  as  this  same  hash ; 
and  no  coffee  distilled  through  French  percolator  was 
ever  so  fine  as  the  pint  pot  which  is  passed  along  to 
me,  smoking  hot,  in  the  morning  ;  and  the  best  treas- 
ures of  Pe'rigord  forest  were  never  relished  more  than 
are  the  few  little  chips  of  ship's  biscuit  which  the 
coffee  washes  down.  In  fact,  our  pleasures  are  but 
relative.  They  are  never  absolute ;  and  happiness  is 
quite  probably,  as  Paley  has  wisely  hinted,  but  a  cer- 
tain state  of  that  "  nervous  network  lining  the  whole 
region  of  the  praecordia  ;  "  and,  therefore,  since  this 
cold  pencil  only  gives  me  pain  in  the  fingers,  while 
nothing  disturbs  the  harmony  of  the  prsecordia,  I  do 
not  know  but  that  I  am  about  as  well  off  as  I  ever 
was  in  my  life.  True,  I  have  not  the  means  which  I 
expected  to  have  for  the  execution  of  my  designs, 
and  I  am  beset  with  difficulties  and  embarrassments ; 
but  if  happiness  lies  in  that  quarter,  pleasure  lies  in 

20 


306  "ALL  IS  VANITY." 

the  future,  for  we  willingly  forget  the  present  in  the 
anticipations,  —  in  the  delights  to  come  from  the  con- 
tests and  struggles  ahead ;  and  it  is  well  that  this  is 
so ;  for  that  which  we  spend  most  time  in  getting 
is  often  not  worth  the  having.  The  Preacher  tells  us 
that  "  All  is  vanity  ; "  and  what  says  the  Poet  ?  — 

" pleasures  are  like  poppies  spread ; 


You  seize  the  flower  —  its  bloom  is  shed ; 
Or  like  the  snow-fall  in  the  river  — 
A  moment  white,  then  melts  forever  ; 
Or  like  the  borealis  race, 
That  flits  ere  you  can  point  the  place." 


CHAPTER  XXVH. 

THE  STOEM  CONTINUES.  — AT  WORK.— AMONG  THE  HUMMOCKS.—  DIFFICULTIES 
OF    THE     TRACK.  — THE     SNOW-DRIFTS.  — SLOW    PROGRESS.  —  THE     SMITH 
SOUND    ICE.  — FORMATION    OF    THE    HUMMOCKS.  —  THE    OLD    ICE-FIELDS. 
GROWTH  OF   ICE-FIELDS.  —  THICKNESS  OF  ICE.— THE  PROSPECT. 

I  WILL  not  lay  so  heavy  a  tax  upon  the  reader's  pa- 
tience as  to  ask  him  to  follow  the  pages  of  my  diary 
through  the  next  three  weeks.  Diaries  are  of  necessity 
so  much  taken  up  with  matters  that  are  purely  per- 
sonal and  contain  so  much  of  endless  repetition,  so 
many  events  that  are  of  daily  recurrence,  that  it  is 
impossible  in  the  very  nature  of  things  that  they  can 
have  much  interest  for  anybody  but  the  writers  of 
them.  Suffice  it,  therefore,  to  say  that  the  storm  con- 
tinued with  unabated  violence  during  the  day  suc- 
ceeding that  which  closed  the  last  chapter,  and  it  did 
not  fairly  subside  until  the  end  of  the  tenth  day. 
Meanwhile,  however,  we  were  busily  occupied.  The 
storm  did  not  keep  us  housed. 

Our  first  duty  was  to  bring  up  the  stores  left  at 
Cape  Hatherton.  This  accomplished,  we  broke  up 
our  carnp  and  set  out  to  cross  the  Sound  with  a  mod- 
erate load,  the  men  dragging  the  large  sledge,  while 
the  dogs  were  attached  as  before.  The  wind  had,  for- 
tunately, hauled  more  to  the  south,  and,  coming 
nearly  on  our  backs,  we  found  little  inconvenience 
from  this  source.  But  difficulties  of  another  kind 
soon  gave  us  warning  of  the  serious  nature  of  the 


308  DIFFICULTIES   OF  THE  TRACK. 

task  which  we  had  undertaken.  By  winding  to  the 
right  and  left,  and  by  occasionally  retracing  our  steps 
when  we  had  selected  an  impracticable  route,  we 
managed  to  get  over  the  first  few  miles  without 
much  embarrassment,  but  farther  on  the  track  was 
rough  past  description.  I  can  compare  it  to  nothing 
but  a  promiscuous  accumulation  of  rocks  closely 
packed  together  and  piled  up  over  a  vast  plain  in  great 
heaps  and  endless  ridges,  leaving  scarcely  a  foot  of 
level  surface  and  requiring  the  traveler  to  pick  the 
best  footing  he  can  over  the  inequalities,  —  some- 
times mounting  unavoidable  obstructions  to  an  eleva- 
tion of  ten,  and  again  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
above  the  general  level. 

The  interstices  between  these  closely  accumulated 
ice  masses  are  filled  up,  to  some  extent,  with  drifted 
snow.  The  reader  will  readily  imagine  the  rest.  He 
will  see  the  sledges  winding  through  the  tangled 
wilderness  of  broken  ice-tables,  the  men  and  dogs 
pulling  and  pushing  up  their  respective  loads,  as  Na- 
poleon's soldiers  may  be  supposed  to  have  done  when 
drawing  their  artillery  through  the  steep  and  rugged 
passes  of  the  Alps,  He  will  see  them  clambering 
over  the  very  summit  of  lofty  ridges,  through  which 
there  is  no  opening,  and  again  descending  on  the 
other  side,  the  sledge  often  plunging  over  a  precipice, 
sometimes  capsizing,  and  frequently  breaking.  Again 
he  will  see  the  party,  baffled  in  their  attempt  to  cross 
or  find  a  pass,  breaking  a  track  with  shovel  and 
handspike  ;  or,  again,  unable  even  with  these  appli- 
ances to  accomplish  their  end,  they  retreat  to  seek 
a  better  track ;  and  they  may  be  lucky  enough  to 
find  a  sort  of  gap  or  gateway,  upon  the  winding  and 
uneven  surface  of  which  they  will  make  a  mile  or  so 


SLOW  PROGRESS.  309 

with  comparative  ease.  The  snow-drifts  are  some- 
times a  help  and  sometimes  a  hinderance.  Their  sur- 
face is  uniformly  hard,  but  not  always  firm  to  the 
foot.  The  crust  frequently  gives  way,  and  in  a  most 
tiresome  and  provoking  manner.  It  will  not  quite 
bear  the  weight,  and  the  foot  sinks  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  the  other  is  lifted.  But,  worse  than  this, 
the  chasms  between  the  hummocks  are  frequently 
bridged  over  with  snow  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave 
a  considerable  space  at  the  bottom  quite  unfilled; 
and  at  the  very  moment  when  all  looks  promising, 
down  sinks  one  man  to  his  middle,  another  to  the 
neck,  another  is  buried  out  of  sight,  the  sledge  gives 
way,  and  to  extricate  the  whole  from  this  unhappy 
predicament  is  probably  the  labor  of  hours ;  espe- 
cially, as  often  happens,  if  the  sledge  must  be  un- 
loaded ;  and  this  latter  is,  from  many  causes,  an  event 
of  constant  occurrence.  Not  unfrequently  it  is  neces- 
sary to  carry  the  cargo  in  two  or  three  loads.  The 
sledges  are  corning  and  going  continually,  and  the 
day  is  one  endless  pull  and  haul.  The  nautical  cry 
of  the  sailors,  intended  to  inspire  unison  of  action, 
mingles  with  the  loud  and  not  always  amiable  com- 
mands of  Jensen  and  Knorr,  each  urging  on  his  fa- 
tigued and  toil-worn  dogs. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  any  kind  of  labor 
more  disheartening,  or  which  would  sooner  sap  the 
energies  of  both  men  and  animals.  The  strength 
gave  way  gradually  ;  and  when,  as  often  happened, 
after  a  long  and  hard  day's  work,  we  could  look  back 
from  an  eminence  and  almost  fire  a  rifle-ball  into  our 
last  snow-hut,  it  was  truly  discouraging. 

I  need  hardly  say  that  I  soon  gave  up  all  thought 
)f  trying  to  get  the  boat  across  the  Sound.  A  huii- 


310  SMITH   SOUND. 

dred  men  could  not  have  accomplished  the  task.  My 
only  purpose  now  was  to  get  to  the  coast  of  Grinnell 
Land  with  as  large  a  stock  of  provisions  as  possible, 
and  to  retain  the  men  as  long  as  they  could  be  of 
use  ;  but  it  soon  became  a  question  whether  the  men 
themselves  could  carry  over  their  own  provisions  in- 
dependent of  the  surplus  which  I  should  require  in 
order  that  the  severe  labor  should  result  to  advantage. 
In  spite,  however,  of  every  thing  the  men  kept  stead- 
fastly to  their  duty,  through  sunshine  and  through 
storm,  through  cold,  and  danger,  and  fatigue. 

The  cause  of  this  extraordinary  condition  of  the 
ice  will  need  but  little  explanation  in  addition  to  that 
which  has  been  given  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The 
reader  will  have  no  difficulty  in  comprehending  the 
cause  by  an  examination  of  the  Smith  Sound  map. 
He  will  observe  that  the  Sound  is,  in  effect,  an  exten- 
sive sea,  with  an  axis  running  almost  east  and  west, 
and  having  a  length  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  and  a  width  of  eighty.  The  name  "Sound," 
by  which  it  is  known,  was  first  given  to  it  by  its  dis- 
coverer, brave  old  William  Baffin,  two  hundred  and 
fifty  odd  years  ago.  The  entrance  from  Cape  Alex- 
ander to  Cape  Isabella  is  but  thirty  miles  over,  and 
by  referring  to  the  map  it  will  be  seen  that  this  gate- 
way rapidly  expands  into  the  sea  to  which  I  have  in- 
vited attention, — a  sea  almost  as  large  as  the  Caspian 
or  Baltic,  measured  from  the  terminus  of  Baffin  Bay 
to  where  Kennedy  Channel  narrows  the  waters  before 
they  expand  into  the  great  Polar  Basin.  This  exten- 
sive sea  should  bear  the  name  of  the  leader  of  the 
expedition  which  first  defined  its  boundaries  —  I 
mean,  of  course,  Dr.  Kane. 

Now  into  this  sea  the  current  sets  from  the  Polar 


DIMENSIONS   OF  AN  ICE   FIELD.  311 

Basin  through  the  broader  gateway  above  mentioned, 
known  as  Kennedy  Channel;  and  the  ice,  escaping 
but  slowly  through  the  narrow  Sound  into  Baffin  Bay, 
has  accumulated  within  the  sea  from  century  to  cen- 
tury. The  summer  dismembers  it  to  some  extent 
and  breaks  it  up  into  fragments  of  varying  size, 
which  are  pressing  together,  wearing  and  grinding 
continually,  and  crowding  down  upon  each  other 
and  upon  the  Greenland  coast,  thus  producing  the 
result  which  we  have  seen. 

In  order  fully  to  appreciate  the  power  and  magni- 
tude of  this  ice-movement,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  ice  is  of  very 
ancient  formation, —  old  floes  or  ice-fields  of  im- 
mense thickness  and  miles  in  extent,  as  well  as  of 
icebergs  discharged  from  Humboldt  Glacier.  These 
vast  masses,  tearing  along  with  the  current  in  the 
early  winter  through  the  sea  as  it  is  closing  up  and 
new  ice  is  making  rapidly,  are  as  irresistible  as  a  tor- 
nado among  the  autumn  leaves.  As  an  illustration, 
I  will  give  the  dimensions  of  an  old  field  measured 
by  me  while  crossing  the  Sound.  Its  average  height 
was  twenty  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  about  six 
by  four  miles  in  extent  of  surface,  which  was  very 
uneven,  rising  into  rounded  hillocks  as  much  as 
eighty  feet  in  height,  and  sinking  into  deep  and 
tortuous  valleys. 

To  cross  such  a  floe  with  our  sledges  was  almost  as 
difficult  as  crossing  the  hummocks  themselves  ;  for,  in 
addition  to  its  uneven  surface,  like  that  of  a  very 
rough  and  broken  country,  it  was  covered  with 
crusted  snow  through  which  the  sledge-runners  cut 
continually,  and  which  broke  down  under  the  foot.  I 
estimated  its  solid  contents,  in  round  numbers,  at 


312  ORIGIN   OF   A   FLOE. 

0,000,000,000  of  tons,  its  depth  being  about  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  feet.  Around  its  border  was  thrown 
up  on  all  sides  a  sort  of  mountain  chain  of  last  year's 
ice,  the  loftiest  pinnacle  of  which  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  ice-hill, 
as  it  might  well  be  called,  was  made  up  of  blocks  of 
ice  of  every  shape  and  of  various  sizes,  piled  one 
upon  the  other  in  the  greatest  confusion.  Numerous 
forms  equally  rugged,  though  not  so  lofty,  rose  from 
the  same  ridge,  and  from  every  part  of  this  desolate 
area ;  and  if  a  thousand  Lisbons  were  crowded  to- 
gether and  tumbled  to  pieces  by  the  shock  of  an 
earthquake,  the  scene  could  hardly  be  more  rugged, 
nor  to  cross  the  ruins  a  severer  task. 

The  origin  of  such  a  floe  dates  back  to  a  very  re- 
mote period.  That  it  was  cradled  in  some  deep  recess 
of  the  land,  and  there  remained  until  it  had  grown 
to  such  a  thickness  that  no  summer's  sun  or  water's 
washing  could  wholly  obliterate  it  before  the  winter 
cold  came  again,  is  most  probable.  After  this  it  grows 
as  the  glacier  grows,  from  above,  and  is,  like  the  gla- 
cier, wholly  composed  of  fresh  ice,  —  that  is,  of  frozen 
snow.  It  will  be  thus  seen  that  the  accumulation  of 
ice  upon  the  mountain  tops  is  not  different  from  the 
accumulation  which  takes  place  upon  these  floating 
fields,  and  each  recurring  year  marks  an  addition  to 
their  depth.  Vast  as  they  are  to  the  sight,  and  dwarfs 
as  they  are  compared  with  the  inland  mer  de  glace, 
yet  they  are,  in  all  that  concerns  their  growth,  truly 
glaciers  —  pigmy  floating  glaciers.  That  they  can 
only  grow  to  such  great  depth  in  this  manner  will  be 
at  once  apparent,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  ice 
soon  reaches  a  maximum  thickness  by  direct  freezing, 
and  that  its  growth  is  arrested  by  a  natural  law. 


AVERAGE  THICKNESS   OF  THE  ICE.  313 

This  thickness  is  of  course  dependent  upon  the  tern 
perature  of  the  locality ;  but  the  ice  is  itself  the  sea's 
protection.  The  cold  air  cannot  soak  away  the 
warmth  of  the  water  through  more  than  a  certain 
thickness  of  ice,  and  to  that  thickness  there  comes  a 
limit  long  before  the  winter  has  reached  its  end.  The 
depth  of  ice  formed  on  the  first  night  is  greater  than 
on  the  second ;  the  second  greater  than  the  third ; 
the  third  greater  than  the  fourth ;  and  so  on  as  the 
increase  approaches  nothing.  The  thickness  of  ice 
formed  at  Port  Foulke  was  nine  feet ;  and,  although 
the  coldest  weather  came  in  March,  yet  its  depth  was 
not  increased  more  than  two  inches  after  the  middle 
of  February.  In  situations  of  greater  cold,  and  where 
the  current  has  less  influence  than  at  Port  Foulke, 
the  depth  of  the  table  will  of  course  become  greater. 
I  have  never  seen  an  ice-table  formed  by  direct 
freezing  that  exceeded  eighteen  feet.  But  for  this 

o  o 

all-wise  provision  of  the  Deity,  the  Arctic"  waters 
would,  ages  ago,  have  been  solid  seas  of  ice  to  their 
profoundest  depths. 

The  reader  will,  I  trust,  bear  patiently  with  this 
long  digression  ;  but  I  thought  it  necessary,  in  order 
that  he  might  have  a  clear  understanding  as  well  of 
our  situation  as  of  the  character  of  these  Arctic  seas ; 
in  which  I  shall  hope  that  I  have  inspired  some  in- 
terest. As  for  ourselves,  we  were  struggling  along 
through  this  apparently  impassable  labyrinth,  striv- 
ing to  reach  the  coast  which  now  began  to  loom  up 
boldly  before  us,  and  thence  stretching  away  into  the 
unknown  North,  there  receives  the  lashings  of.the 
Polar  Sea. 

To  come  back  to  the  narrative  which  we  abandoned 
go  suddenly.  The  24th  of  April  found  us  on  the  mar- 


314 


SLOW   PROGRESS. 


gin  of  the  very  floe  which  I  have  been  describing, 
weary,  worn,  and  much  dispirited.  Since  we  broke 
camp  at  Cairn  Point,  we  had  made  in  a  direct  line 
from  that  place  not  over  thirty  miles.  The  number 
of  miles  actually  traveled  could  not  be  easily  esti- 
mated ;  but  it  was  scarcely  less  than  five  times  that 
distance,  counting  all  our  various  twistings  and  turn- 
ings and  goings  and  comings  upon  our  track.  But  I 
propose  again  to  let  my  diary  speak  for  itself ;  and, 
as  on  a  former  occasion,  when  the  evil  genius  of  that 
unhappy  manuscript  led  it  into  type,  we  will  resort  to 
a  new  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  DIFFICULTIES  MULTIPLYING.  — SLEDGE  BROKEN. —  REFLECTIONS  ON  THI 
PROSPECT.— THE  MEN  BREAKING  DOWN. —  WORSE  AND  WORSE. —THE  SIT- 
UATION.—DEFEAT  OF  MAIN  PARTY.— RESOLVE  TO  SEND  THE  PARTY  BACK 
AND  CONTINUE  THE  JOURNEY  WITH  DOGS. 

April  24th. 

THESE  journal  entries  are  becoming  rather  mono- 
tonous. I  have  little  to  set  down  to-day  that  I  did 
not  set  down  yesterday.  There  is  no  variety  in 
this  journeying  over  the  same  track,  week  in  and 
week  out,  in  the  same  endless  snarl  continually,  —  to- 
day almost  in  sight  of  our  camp  of  yesterday,  the 
sledge  broken,  the  men  utterly  exhausted,  and  the 
dogs  used  up.  We  are  now  twenty-two  days  from  the 
schooner,  and  have  made  on  our  course  not  more  than 
an  average  of  three  miles  a  day.  From  Cairn  Point 
we  are  distant  about  thirty  miles,  and  our  progress 
from  that  place  has  been  slow  indeed.  Grinnell  Land 
looms  up  temptingly  above  the  frozen  sea  to  the 
north  of  us,  but  it  rises  very  slowly.  I  have  tried  to 
carry  out  my  original  design  of  striking  for  Cape 
Sabine,  but  the  hummocks  were  wholly  impassable  in 
that  direction,  and  I  have  had  to  bear  more  to  the 
northward.  The  temperature  has  risen  steadily,  but 
it  is  still  very  low  and  colder  than  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  winter  at  Port  Foulke.  The  lowest  to- 
day was  19°  below  zero,  cairn  and  clear,  and  the  sun 
blazing  upon  us  as  in  the  early  spring-time  at  home. 


316  REFLECTIONS   ON  THE  PROSPECT. 

April  25th. 

A  most  distressing  day.  The  sledge  was  repaired 
in  the  morning  with  much  difficulty,  but  not  so  that 
it  held  without  renewal  through  the  march.  The 
traveling  grows  even  worse  the  further  we  proceed. 
The  hummocks  are  not  heavier,  but  the  recent  snows 
have  not  been  disturbed  by  the  wind  and  lie  loose 
upon  the  surface,  making  the  labor  of  dragging  the 
sledge  much  greater  than  before,  even  in  those  few 
level  patches  with  which  we  have  been  favored  since 
setting  out  in  the  morning. 

My  party  are  in  a  very  sorry  condition.  One  of 
the  men  has  sprained  his  back  from  lifting ;  another 
has  a  sprained  ancle  ;  another  has  gastritis ;  another 
a  frosted  toe  ;  and  all  are  thoroughly  overwhelmed 
with  fatigue.  The  men  do  not  stand  it  as  well  as  the 
dogs. 

Thus  far  I  have  not  ventured  to  express  in  this 
journal  any  doubts  concerning  the  success  of  this  un- 
dertaking ;  but  of  late  the  idea  has  crossed  my  mind 
that  the  chances  of  ever  reaching  the  west  coast  with 
this  party  look  almost  hopeless.  The  question  of  the 
boat  was  decided  days  ago,  and  it  becomes  now  a  very 
serious  subject  for  reflection,  whether  it  is  really  likely 
that  the  men  can  get  over  these  hummocks  to  the 
west  coast  with  even  provisions  enough  to  bring  them 
back.  It  is  almost  as  much  as  they  can  do  to  trans- 
port their  own  camp  fixtures,  which  are  neither 
weighty  nor  bulky. 

April  26th. 

The  progress  to-day  has  been  even  more  unsatis- 
factory than  yesterday.  The  men  are  completely 
used  up,  broken  down,  dejected,  to  the  last  degree. 
Human  nature  cannot  stand  it.  There  is  no  let  up 


THE  SITUATION.  317 

to  it.  Cold,  penetrating  to  the  very  sources  of  life, 
dangers  from  frost  and  dangers  from  heavy  lifting, 
labors  which  have  no  end,  —  a  heartless  sticking  in 
the  mud,  as  it  were,  all  the  time ;  and  then  comes 
snow-blindness,  cheerless  nights,  with  imperfect  rest 
in  snow-huts,  piercing  storms  and  unsatisfying  food. 
This  the  daily  experience,  and  this  the  daily  prospect 
ahead  ;  to-day  closing  upon  us  in  the  same  vast  ice- 
jungle  as  yesterday.  My  party  have,  I  must  own, 
good  reason  to  be  discouraged  ;  for  hunicin  beings 
were  never  before  so  beset  with  difficulties  and  so  in- 
extricably tangled  in  a  wilderness.  We  got  into  a 
cul  de  sac  to-day,  and  we  had  as  much  trouble  to  sur- 
mount the  lofty  barrier  which  bounded  it  as  Jean  Val- 
jean  to  escape  from  the  cul-de-sac  Genrot  to  the  con- 
vent yard.  But  our  convent  yard  was  a  hard  old  floe, 
scarce  better  than  the  hummocked  barrier. 

I  feel  to-night  that  I  am  getting  rapidly  to  the  end 
of  my  rope.  Each  day  strengthens  the  conviction, 
not  only  that  we  can  never  reach  Grinnell  Land,  with 

•/ 

provisions  for  a  journey  up  the  coast  to  the  Polar  Sea, 
but  that  it  cannot  be  done  at  all.  I  have  talked  to 
the  officers,  and  they  are  all  of  this  opinion.  They 
say  the  thing  is  hopeless.  Dodge  put  it  thus  :  "  You 
might  as  well  try  to  cross  the  city  of  New  York  over 
the  house-tops !"  They  are  brave  and  spirited  men 
enough,  lack  not  courage  nor  perseverance ;  but  it 
does  seem  as  if  one  must  own  that  there  are  some 
difficulties  which  cannot  be  surmounted.  But  I  have 
in  this  enterprise  too  much  at  stake  to  own  readily  to 
defeat,  and  we  will  try  again  to-morrow. 

April  27th. 

Worse  and  worse !  We  have  to-day  made  but 
little  progress,  the  sledge  is  badly  broken,  and  I  am 


318  THE   SITUATION. 

brought  to  a  stand-still.  There  does  not  appear  to  be 
the  ghost  of  a  chance  for  me.  Must  I  own  myself  a 
defeated  man  ?  I  fear  so. 

I  was  never  in  all  my  life  so  disheartened  as  I  am 
to-night;  not  even  when,  in  the  midst  of  a  former 
winter,  I  bore  up  with  my  party  through  hunger  and 
cold,  beset  by  hostile  savages,  and,  without  food  or 
means  of  transportation,  encountered  the  uncertain 
fortunes  of  the  Arctic  night  in  the  ineffectual  pursuit 
of  succor. 

Smith  Sound  has  given  me  but  one  succession  of 
baffling  obstacles.  Since  I  first  caught  sight  of  Cape 
Alexander,  last  autumn,  as  the  vanishing  storm  uncov- 
ered its  grizzly  head,  I  have  met  with  but  ill  fortune. 
My  struggles  to  reach  the  west  coast  were  then  made 
against  embarrassments  of  the  most  grave  description, 
and  they  were  not  abandoned  until  the  winter  closed 
upon  me  with  a  crippled  and  almost  a  sinking  ship, 
driving  me  to  seek  the  nearest  place  of  refuge.  Then 
my  dogs  died,  and  my  best  assistant  became  the  vic- 
tim, of  an.  unhappy  accident.  Afterward  I  succeed  in 
some  measure  in  replacing  the  lost  teams,  on  which  I 
had  depended  as  my  sole  reliance ;  and  here  I  am 
once  more  baffled  in  the  middle  of  the  Sound,  stuck 
fast  and  powerless.  My  men  have  failed  me  as  a 
means  of  getting  over  the  difficulties,  as  those  of  Dr. 
Kane  did  before  me.  Two  foot  parties  sent  out  by 
that  commander  to  cross  the  Sound  failed.  Ulti- 
mately I  succeeded  in  crossing  with  dogs,  but  the  pas- 
sage was  made  against  almost  insuperable  difficulties, 
so  great  that  my  companion,  convinced  that  starvation 
and  death  only  would  result  from  a  continuance  of  the 
trial,  resolved  to  settle  it  with  a  Sharp's  rifle  ball ;  but 
the  ball  whizzed  past  my  ear,  and  I  got  to  the  shore 


MEN  USED   UP.  319 

notwithstanding,  —  discovered  Grinnell  Land,  and 
surveyed  two  hundred  miles  of  its  coast.  But  the  ice 
is  now  infinitely  worse  than  it  was  then ;  and  I  am 
convinced  that  the  difficulties  of  this  journey  have 
now  culminated  and  the  crisis  has  been  reached.  The 
men  are,  as  I  have  before  observed,  completely  ex- 
hausted from  the  continued  efforts  of  the  past  week, 
and  are  disheartened  by  the  contemplation  of  the  lit- 
tle progress  that  was  made  as  well  as  by  the  formi- 
dable nature  of  the  hummocks  in  front,  which  they 
realize  are  becoming  more  and  more  difficult  to  sur- 
mount as  they  penetrate  farther  and  farther  into  them. 
Their  strength  has  been  giving  way  under  the  incessant 
and  extraordinary  call  upon  their  energies,  at  temper- 
atures in  which  it  is  difficult  to  exist  even  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances,  each  realizing  that  upon 
his  personal  exertions  depends  the  only  chance  of 
making  any  progress,  and  recognizing  that  after  all 
their  efforts  and  all  their  sacrifices  the  progress  made 
is  wholly  inadequate  to  accomplish  the  object  in  view. 
Besides  this  prostration  of  the  moral  sentiments,  there 
is  the  steady  and  alarming  prostration  of  the  physical 
forces.  One  man  is  incapacitated  from  work  by  having 
his  back  sprained  in  lifting ;  another  is  rendered  useless 
by  having  his  ancle  sprained  in  falling ;  the  freezing 
of  the  fingers  and  toes  of  others  renders  them  almost 
helpless  ;  and  the  vital  energies  of  the  whole  party 
are  so  lowered  by  exposure  to  the  cold  that  they  are 
barely  capable  of  attending  to  their  own  immediate 
necessities,  without  harboring  a  thought  of  exerting 
themselves  to  complete  a  journey  to  which  they  can 
see  no  termination,  and  in  the  very  outset  of  which 
they  feel  that  their  lives  are  being  sacrificed. 

It  is,  therefore,  in  consideration  of  the  condition  of 


320  THE   CONCLUSION. 

my  men,  that  I  have  been  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  attempt  to  cross  the  Sound  with  sledges  has 
resulted  in  failure ;  and  that  my  only  hope  to  accom- 
plish that  object  now  rests  in  the  schooner.  Having 
the  whole  of  the  season  before  me,  I  think  that  I  can, 
even  without  steam,  get  over  to  Cape  Isabella,  and 
work  thence  up  the  west  shore ;  and,  even  should  I  not 
be  able  to  get  as  far  up  the  Sound  as  I  once  hoped, 
yet  I  can,  no  doubt,  secure  a  harbor  for  next  winter 
in  some  eligible  position.  Coming  to  this  conclusion, 
I  have  determined  to  send  back  the  men,  and  I  have 
given  McCormick  full  directions  what  to  do,  in  order 
that  the  vessel  may  be  prepared  when  the  ice  breaks 
up  and  liberates  her.  He  is  to  cradle  the  schooner  in 
the  ice  by  digging  around  her  sides  ;  repair  the  dam- 
age done  last  autumn,  and  mend  the  broken  spars, 
and  patch  the  sails. 

For  myself,  I  stay  to  fight  away  at  the  battle  as 
best  I  can,  with  my  dogs. 

The  men  have  given  me  twenty-five  days  of  good 
service,  and  have  aided  me  nearly  hah0  way  across 
the  Sound  with  about  eight  hundred  pounds  of  food  ; 
and  this  is  all  that  they  can  do.  Their  work  is 
ended. 

Although  the  chance  of  getting  through  with  the 
dogs  looks  hopeless ;  yet,  hopeless  though  the  pros- 
pect, I  feel  that,  when  disembarrassed  of  the  men,  I 
ought  to  make  one  further  effort.  I  have  picked  my 
companions,  and  have  given  them  their  orders.  They 
will  be  Knorr,  Jensen,  and  sailor  McDonald, —  plucky 
men  all,  if  I  mistake  not,  and  eager  for  the  journey. 
There  are  others  that  are  eager  to  go  with  me ;  but, 
if  they  have  courage  and  spirit,  they  have  little  phys- 
ical strength ;  and,  besides,  more  than  two  persons  to 


ONE  MORE   EFFORT.  321 

one  sledge  is  superfluous.  And  now  when  I  think  of 
this  new  trial  which  I  shall  make  to-morrow,  my 
hopes  revive ;  but  when  I  remember  the  fruitless 
struggles  of  the  past  few  days  and  think  of  these 
hummocks,  with  peak  after  peak  rising  one  above  the 
other,  and  with  ridge  after  ridge  in  endless  succession 
intersecting  each  other  at  all  angles  and  in  all  direc- 
tions, I  must  own  that  my  heart  almost  fails  me  and 
my  thoughts  incline  me  to  abandon  the  effort  and  re- 
treat from  what  everybody,  from  Jensen  down,  says 
cannot  be  done,  and  rely  upon  the  schooner  for  cross- 
ing the  Sound.  But  I  have  not  failed  yet !  I 
have  fourteen  dogs  and  three  picked  men  left  to  me ; 
and  now,  abandoning  myself  to  the  protecting  care  of 
an  all-wise  Providence,  who  has  so  often  led  me  to 
success  and  shielded  me  from  danger,  I  renew  the 
struggle  to-morrow  with  hope  and  determination. 
Away  with  despondency ! 


21 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  MAIN  PARTY  SENT  BACK.  —  PLUNGING  INTO  THE  HUMMOCKS  AGAIN.- 
ADVANTAGES  OF  DOGS. —CAMP  IN  AN  ICE-CAVE.  —  NURSING  THE  DOGS.— 
SNOW-BLINDNESS. -A  CHAPTER  OF  ACCIDENTS.  —  CAPE  HAWKS.— CAPE  NA- 
POLEON.—STORM  STAYED.  —  GRINNELL  LAND  LOOMING  UP.  — DISCOVERING 
A  SOUND.  —  RAVENOUS  DISPOSITION  OF  DOGS.  —  A  CHEERLESS  SUPPER.  — 
CAMPING  IN  THE  OPEN  AIR.— PROSTRATION  OF  MEN  AND  DOGS.— MAKING 
THE  LAND  AT  LAST. 

April  28th. 

I  SENT  the  main  party  back  this  morning.  The 
separation  was  quite  affecting.  They  were  the  worst 
used-up  body  of  men  that  I  have  ever  chanced  to  see. 
I  accompanied  them  for  a  short  distance,  and,  with 
much  sadness,  parted  from  them  and  returned  to 
camp.  Upon  looking  around  to  see  what  progress 
they  were  making,  I  observed  that  they  had  halted 
and  were  facing  toward  us,  evidently  designing  to 
give  us  three  parting  cheers.  But  the  case  was  hope- 
less —  there  was  not  a  squeak  left  in  them.  Soon 
after  the  party  had  gone,  we  plunged  again  into  the 
hummocks.  We  had  a  terrible  ridge  to  get  over,  and 
took  ,pnly  half  the  cargo,  intending  to  return  for  the 
balance.  Knorr's  sledge  broke  down,  and  it  was  re- 
paired with  difficulty.  Jensen's  sledge  tumbled  over 
a  declivity  which  we  were  descending,  and  injured  a 
leg  of  one  of  the  dogs.  The  poor  animal  was  turned 
loose,  and  has  hobbled  along  with  us  to  camp.  We 
made  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  then  turned  back 
for  the  balance  of  the  stores.  This  mile  and  a  half 
has,  by  the  tortuous  route  pursued,  been  prolonged 


SNOW   BLINDNESS.  323 

into  near  four,  —  making,  with  the  three  times  going 
over  it,  about  twelve.  I  have  not  before  had  so  bad 
a  day ;  and  yet  the  men  could  not  possibly  have 
brought  their  sledge  through  at  all.  The  dogs  climb 
the  hummocks  with  the  facility  of  the  chamois  mount- 
ing the  Alpine  crags.  One  advantage  they  possess 
is,  that  they  are  not  so  heavy  as  the  men  and  do  not 
so  readily  break  through  the  crusted  snow  ;  and  then, 
the  sledges  being  smaller,  are  more  easily  managed. 
We  have  reached  a  most  formidable  ridge  of  hum- 
mocks which  we  were  too  much  exhausted  to  scale ; 
and  have  camped  in  a  sort  of  cave  made  by  the 
crowding  over  of  some  ice-tables,  thus  saving  the 
labor  of  making  a  burrow ;  and  it  came  most  oppor- 
tunely ;  for  Jensen,  owing  to  the  uncertain  footing, 
discarded  his  glasses,  and  is  in  consequence  suffering 
from  incipient  snow-blindness,  and  would  have  been 
unable  to  assist  in  digging  our  usual  nightly  pit  into 
a  snow-drift.  Our  quarters  are  very  tight  and  more 
than  usually  comfortable,  —  the  temperature  being  up 
to  within  10°  of  the  freezing  point,  while,  outside,  it 
is  12°  below  zero. 

We  set  out  in  the  morning  with  much  spirit,  but 
are  gloomy  enough  to-night.  Such  slow  progress, 
with  so  much  labor,  is  not  inspiring.  Sleep  is  our 
only  consolation,  and  I  am  glad  the  temperature  is 
sufficiently  high  to  enable  us  to  repose  without  freez- 
ing. Sleep,  that  has  before  drowned  many  a  sorrow 
for  many  a  weary  and  care-worn  man,  has  drowned 
many  a  one  of  mine  during  these  past  twenty-five 

days.     It  is 

"  Tired  Nature's  sweet  restorer," 

among  these  ice-deserts,  even  more  than  elsewhere , 
and  our  sleep  is  truly  the  "sleep  of  the  laboring 


324  CANINE   FEROCITY. 

man."  Foolish  Sancho  Panza !  yet  wise  in  thy  folly  ! 
Mankind  will  long  remember  thee  for  thy  sage  reflec- 
tion, — "  Now  blessings  light  on  him  that  first  in- 
vented sleep."  I  will  cover  myself  all  over  with  it, 
as  thou  didst ;  and,  if  I  cannot  find  in  it  "  heat  for  the 
cold,"  I  will  cloak  with  it  for  a  few  brief  hours  the 
recollection  of  my  disappointed  hopes. 

April  29th. 

Back  again  under  our  last  night's  shelter.  The 
hummocks  were  much  the  same  to-day  as  yesterday, 
and  we  made  about  the  same  progress  —  with,  how- 
ever, only  half  our  stores.  The  load  was  left  buried 
in  the  snow,  and  we  returned  for  the  balance ;  but, 
upon  arriving  here,  the  dogs  were  not  able  for  the 
second  trip.  So  here  we  are  under  our  buffaloes  once 
more  in  the  ice-cave,  seeking  sleep.  It  is  the  best 
hut  that  I  have  ever  had.  The  temperature  of  the  air 
came  up  at  noon  to  4C  above  zero,  and  in  the  sun  it 
was  38°.  The  thermometer  hanging  above  my  head 
in  the  cave  now  shows  31°. 

April  30th. 

It  was  all  we  could  do  to  bring  up  the  balance  of 
our  cargo  to  where  we  cached  our  load  yesterday.  I 
must  not  overtax  the  dogs ;  for,  if  they  give  out,  I 
am  done  for.  They  are  much  fatigued  to-night  and 
must  be  nursed  ;  so  I  directed  Jensen  to  make  them 
a  warm  supper  of  meat  and  potatoes  and  lard,  and 
plenty  of  it.  Nothing  could  exceed  their  ravenous 
hunger.  The  ferocity  with  which  they  tear  into  their 
food  exceeds  any  thing  that  I  have  ever  seen,  and 
nothing  escapes  their  sharp  fangs.  They  eat  up  their 
harness  if  not  closely  watched,  and  we  are  obliged  to 
bring  every  thing  made  of  skin  inside  the  hut.  Sev- 
eral of  the  traces  have  disappeared  down  their  rapa- 


THE   COAST  IN   VIEW.  325 

cious  throats ;  and,  with  these  swallowings  and  the 
breakings,  we  are  now  so  badly  off  that  we  must  fall 
back  upon  rope  to  replace  the  skin  lines.  To  add 
to  our  embarrassments,  Jensen  forgot  last  night  to 
cover  over  his  sledge,  (Knorr's  makes  the  roof  of  our 
hut,)  and  when  we  went  out  in  the  morning,  the 
sledge  was  torn  to  pieces,  the  lashings  were  all  eaten, 
and  the  pieces  of  the  sledge  were  scattered  over  the 
snow  all  around  the  camp. 

I  have  nearly  eight  hundred  pounds  of  dog  food, 
but  the  daily  drain  is  very  great ;  and  this,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  slowness  of  our  progress,  looks 
unpromising. 

May  1st. 

We  found  it  impossible  to  get  on  to-day  with  even 
one  half  the  cargo,  and  were  therefore  forced  to  make 
three  parcels  of  it,  —  one  of  which  I  estimate  that 
we  have  brought  nine  miles,  as  traveled,  though  prob- 
ably not  one  third  that  distance  in  a  straight  line.  It 
is  impossible  to  describe  the  nature  of  the  ice  over 
which  we  have  struggled.  It  is  even  worse  than 
any  thing  we  have  encountered  before.  The  run  of 
to-day  has  brought  the  coast  quite  conspicuously  in 
view.  I  am  coming  upon  my  old  survey  of  1854,  and 
am  not  far  from  my  return  track  at  that  time ;  but 
how  different  the  condition  of  the  ice  !  Then  my 
principal  difficulty  was  in  the  outward  journey,  due 
north  from  Van  Kensselaer  Harbor.  Returning  fur- 
ther down  the  Sound,  near  where  we  now  are,  the-  ice 
was  found  to  be  but  little  broken,  and  I  crossed  from 
shore  to  shore  in  two  days. 

I  have  now  a  much  finer  opportunity  for  observa- 
tion than  I  had  then,  for  there  was  on  the  former  oc- 
casion much  fog,  and  I  was  constantly  snow-blind 


I 
326  STORM-STAYED. 

The  coast  of  Grinnell  Land  is  clearly  somewhat  fur- 
ther north  than  I  then  placed  it ;  for  we  are  by  my 
observation  and  reckoning,  within  ten  miles  of  the 
shore,  if  the  map  is  correct.  The  two  bold  capes  to 
which  Dr.  Kane  applied  the  names  Bache  and  Henry 
(the  Victoria  Head  and  Cape  Albert,  of  Captain  Ingle- 
field)  appear  to  be  large  islands,  in  the  mouth  of  a 
sound  from  thirty  to  forty  miles  wide.  I  reserve 
further  judgment  for  further  observation. 

Two  very  conspicuous  headlands  appear  upon  the 
coast :  one,  lying  almost  due  north,  stands  out  with  a 
dark  front,  presenting  a  mural  face  at  least  1500  feet 
high.  On  my  former  journey  I  gave  to  it  the  name 
of  Louis  Napoleon,  in  honor  of  the  remarkable  man 
who,  as  Emperor  of  France,  was  then  first  beginning 
to  exhibit  to  the  world  the  greatness  of  his  powers. 
It  stands  on  the  north  side  of  a  very  conspicuous  bay. 
More  directly  in  our  course  and  nearer  to  us  is  the  other 
bold  cape,  to  which  Dr.  Kane,  on  my  return  from  the 
survey  of  this  coast,  appended  my  own  name  ;  but, 
since  there  was  some  confusion  in  the  maps  after- 
ward between  the  names  Hawks  and  Hayes,  I  have 
discarded  the  latter ;  and  this  immense  rock,  to  which 
Gibraltar  is  a  pigmy,  will  hereafter  bear  the  name  of 
Cape  Hawks.  The  whole  coast  before  us  is  very  bold, 
and  the  mountain-peaks  loom  up  loftily. 

May  2d. 

Storm-stayed  in  the  camp  of  yesterday,  and  miser- 
able enough.  We  came  back  in  the  morning  for  an- 
other load,  and,  when  ready  to  return,  it  was  blowing 
and  drifting  so  hard  from  the  north  that  we  could  not 
face  it,  and  so  were  forced  to  seek  shelter.  The  rest 
is  much  needed  by  the  dogs,  and  this  is  my  only  sat- 
isfaction. Our  camp  fixtures  were  all  left  in  the 


A   FINE   DAY'S   RUN.  327 

camp  of  last  night,  and  we  have  nothing  to  lie  upon 
but  the  snow,  which  is  only  a  shade  softer  than  ice. 
Out  of  one  of  our  provision  tins  we  made  a  kettle, 
and  of  another  a  lamp,  and  so  got  some  supper.  Jen- 
sen is  still  partially  snow-blind,  and  his  sufferings  have 
not  diminished.  This  snow-blindness  is  simply  an  in- 
flammation of  the  entire  eye-ball,  originating  in  the 
retina  in  consequence  of  the  intense  light  produced 
by  the  glare  of  the  sun  reflected  from  the  universal 
whiteness. 

May  3d. 

The  storm  detained  us  in  our  miserable  den  for 
twelve  hours.  The  rest  did  the  dogs  good,  and  we 
have  made  the  cheeriest  day's  work  yet.  But,  as 
every  rose  has  its  thorn,  so  every  day  must  have  its 
drawback.  Jensen,  stumbling  along  with  his  bad 
eyes,  got  his  leg  into  a  crack  and  gave  it  a  severe 
wrench.  He  tells  me  that  the  leg  was  broken  two 
years  ago  ;  and  the  fracture  having  been  oblique,  and 
the  parts  allowed  to  overlap  each  other  while  healing, 
the  union  has  been  imperfect. 

May  4th. 

A  fine  day's  run.  We  had  some  smooth  ice,  and 
got  on  briskly.  Jensen's  snow-blindness  has  disap- 
peared, and  our  route  having  led  us  over  old  floes,  his 
leg  has  not  hurt  him  much  and  has  improved.  He  is 
now  digging  a  pit  for  our  night  shelter,  and  sings  a 
Danish  song  as  cheerily  as  the  grave-digger  in  Ham- 
let. Knorr  and  McDonald  are  chopping  up  the  cakes 
of  desiccated  beef  for  the  dogs ;  and  the  wolfish 
brutes  fill  the  air  with  the  most  hideous  cries.  The 
spectral  pack  of  the  wild  Hartz  huntsman  never  split 
the  ear  of  belated  traveler  with  more  awful  sounds 
than  those  which  come  from  the  throats  of  my  wild 


328  THE   "DELECTABLE   MOUNTAINS. 

beasts  at  this  present  moment.  The  wretches  would 
eat  us  up  if  we  gave  them  the  least  chance.  Knorr 
stumbled  among  the  pack  yesterday,  while  feeding 
them,  and,  had  not  McDonald  pounced  upon  them  on 
the  instant,  I  believe  they  would  have  made  a  meal 
of  him  before  he  could  rise. 

The  hour  is  exactly  midnight,  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  starting,  I  write  in  the  open  air.  The  tem- 
perature is  only  one  degree  below  zero,  and  a  more 
beautiful  sunshine  never  was  beheld.  This  vast  sea 
of  whiteness,  this  great  wilderness  of  glittering  peaks, 
possesses  a  stern,  quiet  sublimity  that  is  wonderfully 
imposing.  The  mountains  before  us.  unlike  those  of 
the  Greenland  coast,  stand  up  in  multiplied  lines  of 
heaven-piercing  cones,  looking  like  giant  stacks  of 
cannon-balls,  sprinkled  with  snow.  The  midnight  sun 
streams  over  them  from  the  north,  and  softens  their 
outlines  through  tinted  vapors  which  float  from  the 
eastward.  Oh !  that  I  were  across  the  barrier  that 
separates  me  from  that  land  of  my  desires !  Those 
mountains  are  my  *'  delectable  mountains,"  - —  the 
fleecy  clouds  which  rest  upon  them  are  the  flocks  of 
the  "  city  "  of  my  ambitious  hopes  —  the  mystic  sea 
which  I  am  seeking  through  these  days  of  weariness 
and  toil. 

I  have  had  some  fine  sights  and  excellent  solar 
bearings  from  a  position  determined  by  solar  altitude, 
and  am  now  firmly  convinced  that  a  Sound  opens 
westward  from  Smith  Sound,  overlooked  by  me  in 
1854 ;  and  that  the  whole  coast  of  Grinnell  Land  was 
placed  by  me  too  far  south. 

May  5th. 

A  perfectly  killing  day,  and  I  have  little  progress 
to  record.  Our  affairs  look  rather  blue.  Jensen 


A   RAVENOUS   PACK.  329 

complains  again  of  his  leg,  and  was  unable  to  proceed 
further  when  we  camped.  He  is  groaning  with  the 
pain.  Knorr  sticks  at  the  work  with  a  tenacity  and 
spirit  most  admirable.  He  has  never  once  confessed 
fatigue ;  and  yet,  to-night,  after  the  severe  labors  of 
the  day  in  lifting  the  sledge,  and  the  endless  trouble 
and  confusion  with  the  dogs,  when  I  asked  him  if  he 
was  tired  and  wanted  to  camp,  his  answerx  was  a 
prompt,  "  No,  sir."  And  yet,  when  we  did  camp  and 
the  work  was  done,  I  found  him  keeled  over  behind  a 
hummock,  where  he  had  gone  to  conceal  his  prostra- 
tion and  faintness,  —  but  there  was  no  faintness  of 
the  spirit.  McDonald  never  shows  eagerness  for  the 
halt,  but  the  labor  is  beginning  to  tell  upon  him.  He 
has  the  true  grit  of  the  thorough-bred  bull-dog,  and 
holds  to  his  work  like  a  sleuth-hound  to  the  scent. 

Let  me  finish  my  grievances.  The  dogs  again  show 
symptoms  of  exhaustion,  —  my  own  fault,  however,  in 
some  measure,  for  I  have  watched  with  miserly  care 
every  ounce  of  food  ;  and,  last  night,  I  gave  to  each 
animal  only  one  and  a  half  pounds.  Result  —  as  I 
have  stated  ;  and,  besides,  to  revenge  themselves,  they 
broke  into  Jensen's  sledge,  which,  owing  to  the  fatigue 
of  everybody,  was  not  unlashed,  but  covered  instead 
with  three  feet  of  snow.  The  brutes  scattered  every 
thing  around,  tried  to  tear  open  our  tin  meat-cans 
with  their  wolfish  fangs,  and  ate  up  our  extra  boots, 
the  last  scrap  of  skin-line  that  was  left,  some  fur  stock- 
ings, and  made  an  end  of  Knorr's  seal-skin  covered 
meerschaum  pipe,  which  he  had  imprudently  hung 
upon  the  upstander.  Hemp  lines  now  make  the 
sledge  lashings  and  traces,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the 
sledges  are  continually  tumbling  to  pieces  and  the 
traces  are  constantly  breaking.  Another  dog  tore 


330  A   COLD   SUPPER. 

open  a  seal-skin  tobacco-pouch,  shook  out  its  contents, 
and  ate  it ;  and  another  bolted  our  only  piece  of  soap. 
This  looks  bad  for  our  future  cleanliness,  but  thirty- 
two  days,  at  these  low  temperatures,  have  worn  off  the 
sharp  edge  of  fastidiousness.  At  first  we  had  always 
a  morning  wash  with  a  handful  of  snow ;  but  latterly 
we  are  not  so  particular,  and  we  shall  not  grieve  over 
the  soap  as  much  as  we  might  have  done  some  weeks 
ago. 

Our  provisions  are  disappearing  with  alarming  ra- 
pidity ;  and  yet,  whenever  I  stint  the  dogs  in  the  least, 
down  they  go.  If  the  dogs  fail  me,  then  nothing  can 
be  done,  and  I  am  completely  at  fault.  Two  days 
more  must  surely  bring  us  to  land.  We  are  making 
in  for  Cape  Hawks,  but  we  are  compelled  to  own  that 
the  Cape  grows  from  day  to  day  very  little  bolder. 
The  numerous  baitings  to  rest  the  dogs,  and  the 
forced  halts  caused  by  the  breaking  of  the  sledges 
and  traces,  when  I  can  do  nothing  to  speed  the  start, 
give  me  fine  opportunities  for  plotting  the  coast;  and 
my  "  field-book "  and  "  sketch-book  "  are  both  well 
used. 

May  6th. 

A  most  miserable  day's  work  brought  to  a  most 
miserable  end.  McDonald  spilled  our  smoking-hot 
supper  on  the  snow ;  and,  as  we  could  not  afford  a 
second  allowance  of  fuel  (lard  and  rope-yarns),  we 
were  in  as  great  danger  of  going  to  bed  supperless  as 
Baillie  Nicol  Jarvie,  at  the  Clachan  of  Aberfoil,  be- 
fore the  red-hot  coulter  brought  the  churly  Highland- 
ers to  reason  ;  but,  luckily,  McDonald  managed,  much 
to  our  satisfaction,  to  scrape  up  the  greater  part  of 
the  hash  along  with  the  snow,  and  we  ate  it  cold. 
The  coffee  was,  however,  of  course,  irrecoverable,  and 


BROKEN   SLEDGES.  33] 

we  are  turning  in  cheerless  enough  in  consequence. 
The  temperature  has  tumbled  down  again  to  10°  be- 
low zero,  and  writing  is  not  pleasant  to  the  fingers 
when  the  thermometer  behaves  in  this  manner. 

May  7th. 

Another  edition  of  all  the  other  days.  We  have 
made  but  little"  progress,  to  reward  us  for  a  most  ener- 
getic day's  labor,  and  are  flat  down  with  two  broken 
sledges.  Of  one  a  runner  is  split,  and  Jensen  declares 
that  he  has  mended  it  so  often  that  he  can  mend  it 
no  more  ;  but  a  few  hours'  sleep  will  sharpen  his  wits, 
1  hope.  We  are  a  rather  lamentable-looking  set  of 
travelers.  With  too  little  energy  to  build  a  snow  hut, 
we  have  drawn  the  sledges  together  and  are  going  to 
sleep  on  them,  in  the  open  air.  The  night  is  reason- 
ably warm,  —  temperature  above  zero,  and  sleeping 
may  be  managed ;  but  we  miss  the  grateful  warmth 
of  the  snow  hut.  The  truth  is,  that  the  labors  of  the 
day  cause  us  to  perspire  as  if  we  were  in  the  tropics, 
and  hence  our  clothing  becomes  wet  through  and 
through ;  the  coat  freezes  stiff  and  solid  as  shee<> 
iron  as  soon  as  we  halt,  and  we  experience  all  over 
the  uncomfortable  sensation  of  "packing"  in  wet 
sheets  at  a  water-cure. 

May  8th. 

Battling  away  as  before.  .1  felt  sure  that  we  would 
reach  the  land  to-day,  but  it  appears  no  nearer  than 
when  we  set  out  this  morning.  Sledges,  harness, 
dogs  and  men  are  all  tumbling  to  pieces. 

May  9th. 

Still  battling  away  ;  but,  this  time,  through  fog  and 
snow,  bedeviled  all  the  day  in  a  lifeless  atmosphere, 
thick  as  the  gloom  of  Hades. 


332  "CAPE   FLY-AWAY." 

May  10th. 

At  the  same  hopeless  work  again  ;  and  again  we 
go  into  camp  among  the  hummocks.  I  dare  not  hope 
that  we  will  reach  the  shore  to-morrow,  for  I  have 
been  so  often  disappointed  ;  but.  the  shore  will  be 
reached  some  time,  if  there  is  an  ounce  of  food  left 
or  a  dog  left  alive  to  drag  it  with.  I  have  settled 
down  into  a  sort  of  dogged  determination. 


May  llth. 

In  camp  at  last,  close  under  the  land  ;  and  as  happy 
as  men  can  be  who  have  achieved  success  and  await 
supper. 

As  we  rounded  to  in  a  convenient  place  for  our 
camp,  McDonald  looked  up  at  the  tall  Cape,  which 
rose  above  our  heads ;  and,  as  he  turned  away  to  get 
our  furnace  to  prepare  a  much-needed  meal,  he  was 
heard  to  grumble  out  in  a  serio-comic  tone  :  "  Well, 
1  wonder  if  that  is  land,  or  only  *  Cape  Fly-away,' 
after  all?" 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  PROSPECT  AHEAD.  — TO  CAPE  NAPOLEON.— TO  CAPE  FRAZEK.  —  TRACES  OF 
ESQUIMAUX.  —  ROTTEN  ICE. —  KENNEDY  CHANNEL.  — MILDNESS  OF  TEMPER- 
ATURE. —  APPEARANCE  OF  BIRDS.  —  GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OF  COAST.— 
VEGETATION.  — ACCIDENT  TO  JENSEN. 

ALTHOUGH  much  gratified  with  the  success  which  I 
had  achieved  against  such  desperate  obstacles,  yet, 
when  I  came  to  reflect  upon  my  situation,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  expectations  which  I  had  entertained 
at  setting  out,  I  had  little  heart  to  feel  triumphant. 
The  thirty-one  days  occupied  in  crossing  the  Sound, 
the  failure  to  get  the  boat,  or  even  a  foot  party  over, 
had  disarranged  ray  original  plans  ;  while  the  severity 
of  the  labor,  and  the  serious  and  unexpected  draft 
made  upon  my  provisions  by  the  extra  feeding  of  the 
dogs,  in  order  to  keep  up  their  strength,  had  so  much 
reduced  my  resources  that,  for  the  present  season,  I 
could  have  little  hope  of  making  any  extended  ex- 
ploration. Under  ordinary  conditions  of  traveling, 
much  less  than  one  half  the  amount  of  food  which  I 
gave  to  the  animals  daily  would  have  amply  sufficed 
for  their  sustenance.  As  it  was,  the  eight  hundred 
pounds  of  dog-food  which  I  had  when  the  foot  party 
left  me,  was  reduced  by  consumption  and  small  de- 
pots for  our  return  journey  to  about  three  hundred 
pounds,  —  in  no  case  more  than  sufficient  for  twelve 
days.  The  most  that  I  could  now  expect  to  do  was 
to  explore  the  route  to  the  shores  of  the  Polar.  Sea,  as 


334  SLOWNESS  OF   PROGRESS. 

a  basis  for  further  exploration  to  follow  the  event  ot 
my  reaching  the  west  side  of  Smith  Sound  with  my 
vessel  late  in  the  summer ;  in  other  words,  to  ascer- 
tain what  chance  there  was  of  carrying  into  effect 
my  original  design,  which  the  circumstance  of  being 
forced  into  a  winter  harbor  on  the  Greenland  coast, 
instead  of  the  coast  opposite,  had  disturbed. 

The  extracts  from  my  field  diary,  given  in  the  last 
chapter,  will  have  shown  the  reader  the  slowness  of 
our  progress ;  while  a  former  chapter  will  have  so  far 
satisfied  him  concerning  the  track  over  which  we  had 
recently  traveled  as  to  make  any  review  of  it  in  this 
connection  unnecessary.  Although  anticipating  at  the 
outset  a  grave  obstacle  in  the  hummocks,  I  was  un- 
prepared to  encounter  them  in  such  formidable  shape  ; 
and  the  failure  of  the  foot  party  to  make  headway 
through  them  was  a  serious  blow  to  my  expectations. 
I  had,  however,  prepared  myself  for  every  emergency, 
and  looked  forward  to  making  up  what  I  had  lost  by 
remaining  in  Smith's  Sound  another  year. 

The  journey  across  the  Sound  from  Cairn  Point 
was  unexampled  in  Arctic  traveling.  The  distance 
from  land  to  land,  as  the  crow  flies,  did  not  exceed 
eighty  miles ;  and  yet,  as  hitherto  observed,  the  jour- 
ney consumed  thirty-one  days,  —  but  little  more  than 
two  miles  daily.  The  track,  however,  which  we  were 
forced  to  choose,  was  often  at  least  three  times  that 
of  a  straight  line  ;  and  since  almost  every  mile  of  that 
tortuous  route  was  traveled  over  three  and  often  five 
times,  in  bringing  up  the  separate  portions  of  our 
cargo,  our  actual  distance  did  not  probably  average 
less  than  sixteen  miles  daily,  or  about  five  hundred 
miles  in  all,  between  Cairn  Point  and  Cape  Hawks. 
The  last  forty  miles,  made  with  dog-sledges  alone,  oc- 


WADING   THROUGH  DEEP  SNOW.  335 

cupied  fourteen  days  —  a  circumstance  which  will  of 
itself  exhibit  the  difficult  nature  of  the  undertaking, 

O" 

especially  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  forty  miles  to 
an  ordinary  team  of  dogs,  over  usually  fair  ice,  is  a 
trifling  matter  for  five  hours,  and  would  not  fatigue 
the  team  half  so  much  as  a  single  hour's  pulling  of 
the  same  load  over  such  hummocks  as  confronted  us 
throughout  this  entire  journey. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  best  result  which  the  Esqui- 
mau dog  is  capable  of  yielding,  it  is  essential  that  he 
shall  be  able  to  trot  away  with  his  load.  To  walk  at 
a  dead  drag  is  as  distressing  to  his  spirits  and  ener- 
gies as  the  hauling  of  a  dray  would  be  to  a  blooded 
horse ;  and  he  will  much  more  readily  run  away  with 
a  hundred  pounds  over  good  ice  than  pull  one- 
fourth  of  that  weight  over  a  track  which  admits  only 
of  a  slow  pace. 

We  did  not  halt  longer  at  Cape  Hawks  than  was 
needful  to  rest  the  teams,  when  we  commenced  our 
journey  up  the  coast.  The  first  day's  march  carried 
us  across  the  wide  bay  between  Capes  Hawks  and 
Napoleon.  We  were  rejoiced  to  find  ourselves  now, 
for  the  first  time,  able  to  carry  our  cargo  all  at  one 
load  ;  and  yet  the  traveling  was  far  from  good.  Ow- 
ing to  the  conformation  of  the  coast,  the  bay  had 
been  sheltered  from  the  winds,  and  the  snows  of  the 
winter,  in  consequence,  lay  loose  upon  the  surface  of 
the  ice.  We  had,  however,  no  alternative  but  to  cross 
the  bay,  for  to  go  outside  was  to  plunge  again  into 
the  hummocks.  The  snows  had  accumulated  to  the 
depth  of  more  than  two  feet,  through  which  the  wad- 
ing was  very  toilsome.  The  sledge  cut  in  to  the  cross- 
ties,  and  the  dogs  sank  to  their  bellies ;  and,  to  mako 
the  matter  worse,  Jensen's  leg  gave  out  so  that  it 


336  KENNEDY    CHANNEL. 

became  necessary  to  transfer  a  part  of  his  load  to 
Knorr's  sledge,  in  order  that  he  might  ride.  Not 
wishing  to  be  detained  by  this  circumstance,  I  put  a 
belt  across  McDonald's  shoulders,  took  one  myself, 
and  gave  one  to  Knorr,  and  we  each  pulled,  I  dare 
say,  as  much  as  the  best  dog  in  the  team. 

On  the  second  day's  inarch  the  ice  was  found  to  be 
jammed  in  a  terrible  manner  upon  Cape  Napoleon,  so 
that  we  were  quite  unable  to  reach  the  shore  at  that 
place,  and  were  forced  to  hold  out  into  the  Sound  and 
become  once  more  entangled  among  the  hummocks. 
A  thick  fog,  completely  veiling  the  land,  coming  upon 
us  from  the  north,  and  a  shower  of  snow  following 
after,  caused  us  so  much  bewilderment  that  we  were 
obliged  to  camp  and  await  better  weather. 

The  land-ice  was  reached  next  morning,  and  during 
that  day  we  made  a  brisk  run  to  the  north  side  of 
Cape  Frazer  —  the  first  time  that  we  had  struck  a 
trot  since  leaving  Cairn  Point.  Our  camp  was  made 
near  the  furthest  point  reached  by  me  in  1854. 

We  were  now  within  Kennedy  Channel,  which  I 
had  before  barely  entered.  The  ice  in  the  entrance 
of  the  Channel  was  much  like  that  of  the  Sound  be- 
low ;  so  that  we  were  obliged  to  adhere  to  the  land- 
ice,  even  while  crossing  Gould  Bay,1  which  lies  be- 
tween Capes  Leidy  and  Frazer,  and  which  I  once 
thought  would  furnish  a  good  winter  harbor.  Indeed, 
this  was  the  bay  which  it  was  my  aim  to  reach  with 
my  vessel  the  previous  autumn.  The  little  flag-staff, 
which  I  had  before  planted  at  this  place,  was  discov- 
ered, still  standing  erect  among  the  rocks  ;  but  not  a 
vestige  of  the  flag  remained.  The  winds  had  whipped 
it  entirely  away. 

1  So  named  in  honor  of  Dr.  B.  A.  Gould,  of  Cambridge. 


TRACES   OF   ESQUIMAUX.  337 

While  rounding  the  head  of  Gould  Bay,  I  observed 
that,  as  at  Port  Foulke,  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor,  and 
indeed  in  almost  every  bay  of  the  Greenland  coast 
which  I  have  visited  above  Cape  York,  the  land  rises 
with  a  gentle  slope,  broken  into  steppes  of  greater 
or  less  regularity,  —  a  series  of  terraced  beaches,  the 
highest  of  which  I  estimated  to  be  from  one  hundred 
and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the 
sea.  To  these  terraces  I  shall  have  occasion  hereafter 
to  refer,  and  will  not  now  longer  detain  the  reader 
than  merely  to  observe  that  they  indicate  a  consecu- 
tive elevation  of  the  two  coasts.  I  also  found  in  that 
Bay  the  remains  of  an  Esquimau  carnp.  The  marks 
were  quite  unmistakable  in  their  character  although 
of  very  ancient  date.  The  discovery  was  the  more 
gratifying,  that  it  confirmed  the  native  traditions 
which  had  been  recited  to  me  by  Kalutunah.  They 
were  a  single  circle  of  heavy  stones  lying  upon  the 
shingly  terrace.  The  circle  was  about  twelve  feet  in 
diameter,  and  is  such  as  may  be  seen  in  all  places 
where  Esquimaux  have  been  in  the  summer  time. 
The  stones  answer  the  purpose  of  securing  the  lower 
margin  of  their  seal-skin  tent ;  and,  when  they  break 
up  camp,  the  skins  are  drawn  out,  leaving  the  stones 
in  the  situation  above  described. 

The  journey  of  the  next  day  was  the  most  satis- 
factory of  any  that  had  been  made,  yet  it  had  its 
drawbacks.  As  we  proceeded,  we  began  to  experi- 
ence in  even  a  greater  degree  than  in  Smith  Sound 
the  immense  force  of  ice-pressure  resulting  from  the 
southerly  set  of  the  current.  Every  point  of  land 
exposed  to  the  northward  was  buried  under  ice  of  the 
most  massive  description.  Many  blocks  from  thirty 
to  sixty  feet  thick,  and  of  much  greater  breadth,  were 

22 


338  ROTTEN  ICE. 

lying  high  and  dry  upon  the  beach,  pushed  up  by  the 
resistless  pack  even  above  the  level  of  the  highest 
tides.  The  first  embarrassment  to  our  progress  occa- 
sioned by  this  cause  occurred  soon  after  setting  out 
from  our  camp  above  Cape  Frazer,  and  being  wholly 
unable  to  pass  it,  we  were  obliged  to  take  once  more 
to  the  ice-fields.  But  this  was  a  matter  not  easily  ac- 
complished. The  tide  was  out,  apparently  at  full  ebb, 
and  the  land-ice  formed  a  wall,  down  which  we  were 
obliged  to  scramble.  By  lashing  the  two  sledges  to- 
gether we  made  a  ladder,  and  thus  secured  our  own 
descent ;  while  the  dogs  were  lowered  by  their  traces, 
and  the  cargo  piece  by  piece  with  a  line.  The  field- 
ice  was,  however,  found  to  be,  in  addition  to  its  rough- 
ness, in  many  places  very  rotten  and  insecure,  so  that 
after  one  of  the  teams  had  broken  through  and  was 
rescued  not  without  difficulty,  we  found  ourselves 
compelled  to  haul  in  shore  and  take  once  more  to  the 
land-ice.  Being  thenceforth  under  the  necessity  of 
following  all  the  windings  of  the  shore  line,  our  dis- 
tance was  at  least  doubled,  and  when  we  hauled  up 
for  the  night  both  ourselves  and  the  dogs  were  very 
weary. 

Although  much  exhausted  with  the  day's  journey, 
1  availed  myself  of  the  time  consumed  by  my  com- 
panions in  preparing  the  camp  and  supper  to  climb 
the  hill-side  for  a  view.  The  air  was  quite  clear,  and 
I  commanded  an  uninterrupted  horizon  to  the  east- 
ward. The  ice  was  much  less  rough  than  that  which 
we  had  crossed  in  Smith  Sound,  owing  to  the  old  floes 
having  been  less  closely  impacted  while  that  part  of 
the  sea  was  freezing  up  during  the  last  autumn  or 
winter.  Hence,  there  was  much  more  new  ice.  It 
was  evident  that  the  sea  had  been  open  to  a  very 


MILDNESS  OF  TEMPERATURE.  339 

late  period ;  and,  indeed,  like  the  water  off  Port 
Foulke,  had  not  closed  up  completely  until  the 
spring.  I  was  much  surprised  to  see  the  ice  so 
thin  and  washed  away  thus  early  in  the  season. 
Small  patches  of  open  water  were  visible  at  points 
where  the  conformation  of  the  coast  warranted  the 
conclusion  that  an  eddy  of  the  current  had  operated 
upon  the  ice  more  rapidly  than  in  other  places. 

I  was  struck  with  the  circumstance  that  no  land 
was  visible  to  the  eastward,  as  it  would  not  have  been 
difficult  through  such  an  atmosphere  to  distinguish 
land  at  the  distance  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles.  It 
would  appear,  therefore,  that  Kennedy  Channel  is 
something  wider  than  hitherto  supposed.  To  the 
northeast  the  sky  was  dark  and  cloudy,  and  gave 
evidence  of  water ;  and  Jensen,  who  watched  the 
rapid  advance  of  the  season  with  solicitude,  was  not 
slow  to  direct  my  attention  to  the  "  water-sky." 

The  temperature  of  the  air  was  strangely  mild,  and 
indeed  distressingly  so  for  traveling,  although  it  pos- 
sessed its  conveniences  in  enabling  us  to  sleep  upon 
our  sledges  in  the  open  air  with  comfort.  The  lowest 
temperature  during  the  day  was  20°;  while,  at  one  time, 
it  rose  to  the  freezing-point,  —  the  sun  blazing  down 
upon  us  while  we  trudged  on  under  our  heavy  load 
of  furs.  The  day  seemed  really  sultry.  To  discard 
our  furs  and  travel  in  our  shirt-sleeves  was  of  course 
our  first  impulse ;  but  to  do  so  added  to  the  load  on 
the  sledges,  and  it  was  of  the  first  importance  that 
the  dogs  should  be  spared  every  pound  of  unneces- 
sary weight;  so  each  one  carried  his  own  coat  upon 
his  back,  and  perspired  after  his  own  fashion. 

This  unseasonable  warmth  operated  greatly  to  our 
disadvantage.  The  snow  became  slushy,  and  with  so 


340  APPEARANCE  OF  BIRDS. 

great  a  distance  of  ice  between  us  and  Port  Foulke, 
Jensen,  whose  experience  in  the  rapid  dissolution  of 
ice  about  Upernavik,  at  the  same  season  of  the  year, 
had  brought  him  into  many  serious  difficulties,  kept 
a  sharp  eye  open  upon  our  line  of  retreat.  But  dan- 
ger from  a  general  break-up  I  did  not  consider  as 
likely  to  come  for  at  least  a  month.  Yet  the  spring 
(if  sucl;  it  might  be  called)  was  approaching  rapid- 
ly, as  was  shown  by  the  appearance  of  birds.  As 
I  stood  upon  the  hill-side  some  little  snow-buntings 
came  chirping  about  me,  and  a  burgomaster-gull  flew 
over  our  heads  wheeling  his  flight  northward.  He 
seemed  to  have  caught  the  sound  of  tumbling  seas, 
and  was  leading  his  mate,  who  came  sailing  along 
after  him  with  modest  mien,  to  a  nuptial  retreat  on 
some  wave-licked  island  ;  and  he  screamed  as  if  he 
would  inquire,  were  we  too  bound  on  the  same 
errand.  A  raven,  too,  came  and  perched  himself 
upon  a  cliff  above  our  camp,  and  croaked  a  dismal 
welcome,  or  a  warning.  One  of  these  birds  had 
kept  us  company  through  the  winter,  and  this  one 
looked  very  much  as  if  he  was  bent  upon  adhering 
to  my  fortunes ;  though,  I  suppose,  in  truth,  he  was 
only  looking  for  crumbs.  He  stuck  by  us  for  several 
days,  and  always  dropped  down  into  our  abandoned 
camp  as  soon  as  we  were  on  our  way. 

The  coast  along  which  we  were  now  traveling  pos- 
sessed much  interest.  It  presented  a  line  of  very 
lofty  cliffs  of  silurian  rocks  l  —  sandstone  and  lime- 

1  At  Capes  Leidy,  Frazcr,  and  other  points  of  the  coast  I  subsequently 
obtained  a  considerable  collection  of  fossils,  —  all  of  which  were  forwarded 
to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  at  Washington,  soon  after  my  return  home. 
Unhappily,  the  finest  of  them  were  lost  after  having  been  sent  from 
Philadelphia ;  but  a  sufficient  number  of  specimens  were  found  among  the 
geological  collections  to  enable  Prof.  F.  B.  Meek,  to  whom  I  intrusted 
them,  to  establish  some  interesting  points  of  comparison.  In  a  short  paper 


GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES  OP  COAST.  341 

stone  —  much  broken  down  by  the  wasting  influences 
of  the  winter  frosts  and  summer  thaws.  Behind  these 
cliffs  the  land  rose  into  lofty  peaks,  such  as  I  have  be- 
fore described.  Upon  the  sides  of  these  peaks  the 
snow  rested,  clothing  them  with  a  uniform  whiteness ; 
but  nowhere  was  there  any  evidence  of  mountain- 
ice.  Along  the  entire  coast  of  Grinnell  Land  no  gla- 
cier appears,  presenting  thus  a  striking  contrast  to 
Greenland  and  the  land  on  the  south  side  6f  the 
Channel  which  I  discovered  while  crossing  Smith 
Sound  —  the  Ellesmere  Land  of  Captain  Inglefield. 

During  this  day's  journey  I  had  discovered  numer- 
ous traces  of  the  former  presence  of  Esquimaux. 
They  were  similar  to  those  which  I  had  before  found 
in  Gould  Bay.  I  also  picked  up  some  fossils  at  Cape 
Frazer  and  other  places,  which  clearly  exhibited  the 
character  of  the  rock.  There  were  but  few  traces  of 
vegetation  in  those  places  where  the  land  had  been 
bared  of  snow  by  the  winds.  A  willow  stem  (prob- 
ably, salix  arctica],  a  single  specimen  of  a  dead  saxi- 
frage (saxifraga  oppositifolia),  and  a  tuft  of  dried  grass 
(festuca  ovina),  were  all  that  I  found. 

published  in  Sillhnan's  Journal,  for  July,  1865,  Prof.  Meek  enumerates 
and  describes  twelve  species.  Some  of  the  specimens  were  imperfect,  and 
their  specific  character  could  not  be  determined.  The  list  is  as  follows  :  — 

1.  Zaphrentis  Hayesii.  7.  Rhynchonella  *  *  *  *• 

2.  Syringopora  *  *  *  *.  8.   Ccelospira  concava. 

3.  Favosiles  *  *  *  *.  9.  Spirifer  *  *  *  *. 

4.  Slrophomena  Rhomboidalis.  10.  Loxonema  Kanei. 

5.  Strophodonta  Headleyana.  11    Orthoceras  *  »  *  ». 

6.  Strophodonta  Beckii.         .  12.  Illcenus  *  *  *  *. 

Prof.  Meek  makes  this  observation  :  —  "  From  the  foregoing  list,  it  ia 
believed  that  geologists  will  agree  that  the  rocks  at  this  highest  locality  at 
which  fossils  have  ever  been  collected,  belong  to  the  Upper  Silurian  era. 
The  most  remarkable  fact,  however,  is,  that  they  are  nearly  all  very 
•.•losely  allied  to,  and  some  of  them  apparently  undistinguishable  from 
species  found  in  the  Catskill  shaly  Limestone  of  the  New  York  Lower 
Melderbcrg  group." 


342  ACCIDENT  TO  JENSEN. 

If  fortunate  in  point  of  distance  accomplished,  yet 
the  day  was  not  all  that- 1  had  hoped.  The  land-ice 
was  exceedingly  rough,  and  it  was  not  without  much 
difficulty  that  we  effected  a  passage  around  some  of 
the  points.  In  one  of  our  most  difficult  encounters 
of  this  nature,  Jensen  slipped,  and  again  injured  his 
leg,  and  afterwards  sprained  his  back  while  lifting  his 
sledge.  In  consequence  of  these  accidents  our  prog- 
ress was  much  retarded  during  the  following  day,  and 
involved  me  again  in  serious  embarrassment.  My 
diary  thus  sums  up  our  situation  :  — 

May  loth. 

Jensen,  my  strongest  man  and  the  one  upon  whose 
physical  endurance  I  have  always  relied  most  confi- 
dently, is  not  only  fatigued  but  completely  broken 
down.  He  lies  on  the  sledge,  moaning  and  groaning 
with  pain  from  a  sprained  back  and  his  injured  leg  ; 
and  what  to  do  with  him  I  do  not  see.  He  appears 
to  be  unable  to  go  further,  and  the  only  question  con- 
cerning him  seems  to  be,  how  he  is  to  be  got  home. 
With  anything  like  a  fair  field,  I  ought  to  reach  about 
lat.  83°,  but  the  loss  of  Jensen's  muscular  strength  is 
damaging  to  me.  The  track  has  been  execrable  to- 
day ;  and  yet,  all  things  considered,  we  have  done 
very  well.  We  have  made,  at  the  least,  twenty  miles. 
McDonald  is  pretty  well  used  up,  and  Knorr  is  quite 
as  bad,  if  he  could  be  got  to  own  it.  Jensen's  suffer- 
ings have  naturally  affected  his  spirits ;  and  with 
these  long  hundreds  of  miles  lying  behind  us,  it  is 
perhaps  not  surprising  that  his  only  present  expecta- 
tion will  be  realized,  if  his  bones  are  left  to  bleach 
among  these  barren  rocks.  What  I  shall  do  to- 
morrow, the  morrow  must  determine.  Thanks  to 
careful  nursing,  I  have  yet  my  dogs  in  fair  condition ; 
and  that  is  the  best  part  of  the  battle. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

I  NEW  START.  — SPECULATIONS.— IN  A  FOG.  —  POLAR  SCENERY.  —  STOPPED  B7 
KOTTEN  ICE.— LOOKING  AHEAD.  —  CONCLUSIONS. —THE  OPEN  SEA.  —  CLI- 
MAX OF  THE  JOURNEY.  —  RETURNING  SOUTH. 

THE  unexpected  breaking  down  of  my  strong  man, 
Jensen,  was  a  misfortune  only  one  degree  less  keenly 
felt  than  the  previous  failure  of  the  foot  party,  and  it 
troubled  me  much ;  for,  while  I  lost  the  services  of  a 
stout  arm  and  an  active  body,  I  was  naturally  anxious 
about  his  safety.  With  a  helpless  man  on  my  hands, 
and  with  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  rough  ice 
between  me  and  the  schooner,  —  with  but  scant  de- 
pots of  provision  by  the  way,  calculated  only  for  a 
journey  with  empty  sledges,  I  must  own  that  I  was 
somewhat  perplexed. 

When  the  morning  came,  Jensen  was  found  to  have 
improved  but  little  and  was  scarcely  able  to  move.  I 
promptly  determined  to  leave  him  in  charge  of  Mc- 
Donald, and  to  push  on  with  Knorr  alone.  Lest  acci- 
dent from  rotten  ice  (the  only  one  that  I  had  to  fear) 
should  befall  me,  I  left  with  McDonald  five  dogs,  with 
directions  to  await  us  as  many  days,  and  then  make 
the  best  of  his  way  back  to  Port  Foulke. 

Our  simple  breakfast  over,  I  was  once  more  plung- 
ing through  the  hummocks,  making  my  last  throw. 
Our  track  lay  across  a  bay  so  deep  that  the  distance 
would  be  more  than  quadrupled  if  we  followed  its 
tortuous  windings  of  the  shore  upon  the  land-ice. 


344  IN   A  FOG. 

My  purpose  now  was  to  make  the  best  push  I 
could,  and,  traveling  as  far  as  my  provisions  war- 
ranted, reach  the  highest  attainable  latitude  and 
secure  such  a  point  of  observation  as  would  enable 
me  to  form  a  definite  opinion  respecting  the  sea  be- 
fore me,  and  the  prospects  of  reaching  and  navigating 
it  with  a  boat  or  with  the  schooner.  I  had  already 
reached  a  position  somewhat  to  the  northward  of  that 
attained  by  Morton,  of  Dr.  Kane's  expedition,  in  June, 
1354,  and  was  looking  out  upon  the  same  sea  from  a 
point  probably  about  sixty  miles  to  the  northward  and 
westward  of  Cape  Constitution,  where,  only  a  month 
later  in  the  season,  his  further  progress  was  arrested 
by  open  water. 

It  only  remained  for  me  now  to  extend  the  survey 
as  far  to  the  north  as  possible.  By  the  judicious  hus- 
banding of  my  resources  I  had  still  within  my  hands 
ample  means  to  guarantee  a  successful  termination  to 
a  journey  which  the  increasing  darkness  and  extent 
of  the  water-sky  to  the  northeast  seemed  to  warn  me 
was  approaching  its  climax. 

Our  first  day's  journey  was  not  particularly  en- 
couraging. The  ice  in  the  bay  was  rough  and  the 
snow  deep,  and,  after  nine  hours  of  laborious  work, 
we  were  compelled  to  halt  for  rest,  having  made, 
since  setting  out,  not  more  than  as  many  miles.  Our 
progress  had  been  much  retarded  by  a  dense  fog 
which  settled  over  us  soon  after  starting,  and  which, 
by  preventing  us  from  seeing  thirty  yards  on  either 
side,  interfered  with  the  selection  of  a  track ;  and  we 
were,  in  consequence,  forced  to  pursue  our  course  by 
compass. 

The  fog  clearing  up  by  the  time  we  had  become 
rested,  and  the  land  being  soon  reached,  we  pursued 


POLAR  SCENERY.  345 

our  way  along  the  ice-foot  with  much  the  same  for- 
tune as  had  befallen  us  since  striking  the  shore  above 
Cape  Napoleon.  The  coast  presented  the  same  feat- 
ures —  great  wall-sided  cliffs  rising  at  our  left,  with 
a  jagged  ridge  of  crushed  ice  at  our  right,  forming  a 
white  fringe,  as  it  were,  to  the  dark  rocks.  We  were, 
in  truth,journeying  along  a  winding  gorge  or  valley, 
formed  by  the  land  on  one  side  and  the  ice  on  the 
other ;  for  this  ice-fringe  rose  about  fifty  feet  above 
our  heads,  and,  except  here  and  there  where  a  cleft 
gave  us  an  outlook  upon  the  sea,  we  were  as  com- 
pletely hemmed  in  as  if  in  a  canon  of  the  Cordille- 
ras. Occasionally,  however,  a  bay  broke  in  upon  the 
continuity  of  the  lofty  coast,  and  as  we  faced  to  the 
westward  along  its  southern  margin,  a  sloping  ter- 
raced valley  opened  before  us,  rising  gently  from  the 
sea  to  the  base  of  the  mountains,  which  rose  with  im- 
posing grandeur.  I  was  never  more  impressed  with 
the  dreariness  and  desolation  of  an  Arctic  landscape. 
Although  my  situation  on  the  summit  of  the  Green- 
land mer  de  (/lace,  in  October  of  the  last  year,  had  ap 
parently  left  nothing  unsupplied  to  the  imagination 
that  was  needed  to  fill  the  picture  of  boundless  steril- 
ity, yet  here  the  variety  of  forms  seemed  to  magnify 
the  impression  on  the  mind,  and  to  give  a  wider  play 
to  the  fancy  ;  and  as  the  eye  wandered  from  peak  to 
peak  of  the  mountains  as  they  rose  one  above  the 
other,  and  rested  upon  the  dark  and  frost-degraded 
cliffs,  and  followed  along  the  ice-foot,  and  overlooked 
the  sea,  and  saw  in  every  object  the  silent  forces  of 
Nature  moving  on  through  the  gloom  of  winter  and 
the  sparkle  of  summer,  now,  as  they  had  moved  for 
countless  ages,  unobserved  save  by  the  eye  of  God 
alone,  I  felt  how  puny  indeed  are  all  men's  works  and 


346  QUITTING  THE  LAND-ICE. 

efforts ;  and  when  I  sought  for  some  token  of  living 
thing,  some  track  of  wild  beast,  —  a  fox,  or  bear,  or 
reindeer,  —  which  had,  elsewhere,  always  crossed  me 
in  my  journey  ings,  and  saw  nothing  but  two  feeble 
men  and  our  struggling  dogs,  it  seemed  indeed  as  if 
the  Almighty  had  frowned  upon  the  hills  and  seas. 

Since  leaving  Cairn  Point  we  had  looked  most 
anxiously  for  bears ;  but  although  we  had  seen  many 
tracks,  especially  about  Cape  Frazer,  not  a  single  ani- 
mal had  been  observed.  A  bear,  indeed,  woul.l  have 
been  a  godsend  to  us.  and  would  have  placed  me 
wholly  beyond  anxiety  respecting  the  strength  of  the 
dogs,  as  it  would  not  only  have  put  new  life  into 
them,  but  would  have  given  them  several  days  of 
more  substantial  rations  than  the  dried  beef  which 
they  had  been  so  long  fed  upon. 

After  a  ten  hours'  march,  we  found  ourselves  once 
more  compelled  to  camp ;  and  four  hours  of  the  fol- 
lowing day  brought  us  to  the  southern  cape  of  a  bay 
which  was  so  deep  that,  as  in  other  cases  of  like  ob- 
struction, we  determined  to  cross  over  it  rather  than 
to  follow  the  shore  line.  We  had  gone  only  a  few 
miles  when  we  found  our  progress  suddenly  arrested. 
Our  course  was  made  directly  for  a  conspicuous  head- 
land bounding  the  bay  to  the  northward,  over  a  strip 
of  old  ice  lining  the  shore.  This  headland  seemed  to 
be  about  twenty  miles  from  us,  or  near  latitude  82°, 
and  I  was  very  desirous  of  reaching  it ;  but,  unhap- 
pily, the  old  ice  came  suddenly  to  an  end,  and  after 
scrambling  over  the  fringe  of  hummocks  which  mar- 
gined it,  we  found  ourselves  upon  ice  of  the  late  win- 
ter. The  unerring  instinct  of  the  dogs  warned  us  of 
approaching  danger.  They  were  observed  for  some 
time  to  be  moving  with  unusual  caution,  and  finally 


STOPPED   BY  ROTTEN  ICE.  847 

they  scattered  to  right  and  left,  and  refused  to  pro- 
ceed further.  This  behavior  of  the  dogs  was  too  famil- 
iar to  me  to  leave  any  doubt  as  to  its  meaning ;  and 
moving  forward  in  advance,  I  quickly  perceived  that 
the  ice  was  rotten  and  unsafe.  Thinking  that  this 
might  be  merely  a  local  circumstance,  resulting  from 
some  peculiarity  of  the  current,  we  doubled  back  upon 
the  old  floe  and  made  another  trial  further  to  the 
eastward.  Walking  now  in  advance  of  the  dogs  they 
were  inspired  with  greater  courage.  I  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  when  I  found  the  ice  again  giving  way 
under  the  staff,  with  which  I  sounded  its  strength, 
and  again  we  turned  back  and  sought  a  still  more 
eastern  passage. 

Two  hours  consumed  in  efforts  of  this  kind,  during 
which  we  had  worked  about  four  miles  out  to  sea, 
convinced  me  that  the  ice  outside  the  bay  was 
wholly  impassable,  and  that  perseverance  could  only 
end  in  disappointment ;  for  if  we  happened  to  break 
through,  we  should  not  only  be  in  great  jeopardy 
but  would,  by  getting  wet,  greatly  retard,  if  not 
wholly  defeat  our  progress  to  the  opposite  shore. 
Accordingly  we  drew  back  toward  the  land,  seeking 
safety  again  upon  the  old  floe,  and  hauling  then  to 
the  westward,  endeavored  to  cross  over  further  up 
the  bay ;  but  here  the  same  conditions  existed  as  out- 
side, and  the  dogs  resolutely  refused  to  proceed  as 
soon  as  we  left  the  old  ice.  Not  wishing  to  be  de- 
feated in  my  purpose  of  crossing  over,  we  held  still 
further  west  and  persevered  in  our  efforts  until  con- 
vinced that  the  bay  could  not  be  crossed,  and  then  we 
had  no  alternative  but  to  retreat  to  the  land-ice  and 
follow  its  circuit  to  our  destination. 

With  the  view  of  ascertaining  how  far  this  course 


348  VIEW  FROM  THE   CLIFF. 

was  likely  to  carry  us  from  a  direct  line,  I  walked, 
while  the  dogs  were  resting,  a  few  miles  along  the 
shore  until  I  could  see  the  head  of  the  bay,  distant 
not  less  than  twenty  miles.  To  make  this  long  de- 
tour would  occupy  at  least  two  if  not  three  days,  — 
an  undertaking  not  justified  by  the  state  of  our  pro- 
visions, —  and  we  therefore  went  into  camp,  weary 
with  more  than  twelve  hours'  work,  to  await  the  issue 
of  further  observation  on  the  morrow. 

Surprised  at  the  condition  of  the  ice  in  the  bay,  I 
determined  to  climb  the  hill  above  the  camp,  with  the 
view  of  ascertaining  the  probable  cause  of  our  being 
thus  baffled ;  and  to  ascertain  if  a  more  direct  route 
could  not  be  found  further  to  the  eastward  than  that 
by  the  land-ice  of  the  bay ;  for  it  was  now  clear  that 
it  was  only  possible  to  continue  our  journey  north- 
ward in  one  or  the  other  of  these  directions.  The 
labors  of  the  day  made  it  necessary,  however,  that  I 
should  procure  some  rest  before  attempting  to  climb 
the  hill  to  such  an  elevation  as  would  enable  me  to 
obtain  a  clear  view  of  the  condition  of  the  ice  to  the 
opposite  shore. 

.  After  a  most  profound  and  refreshing  sleep,  inspired 
by  a  weariness  which  I  had  rarely  before  experienced, 
to  an  equal  degree,  I  climbed  the  steep  hill-side  to  the 
top  of  a  ragged  cliff,  which  I  supposed  to  be  about 
eight  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  view  which  I  had  from  this  elevation  furnished 
a  solution  of  the  cause  of  my  progress  being  arrested 
on  the  previous  day. 

The  ice  was  everywhere  in  the  same  condition  as 
in  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  across  which  I  had  endeav- 
ored to  pass.  A  broad  crack,  starting  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  bay,  stretched  over  the  sea,  and  uniting 


VIEW   FROM  THE  CLIFF.  349 

with  other  cracks  as  it  meandered  to  the  eastward,  it 
expanded  as  the  delta  of  some  mighty  river  discharg- 
ing into  the  ocean,  and  under  a  water-sky,  which 
hung  upon  the  northern  and  eastern  horizon,  it  was 
lost  in  the  open  sea. 

Standing  against  the  dark  sky  at  the  north,  there 
was  seen  in  dim  outline  the  white  sloping  summit  of 
a  noble  headland,  —  the  most  northern  known  land 
upon  the  globe.  I  judged  it  to  be  in  latitude  82°  30', 
or  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  North  Pole. 
Nearer,  another  bold  cape  stood  forth ;  and  nearer 
still  the  headland,  for  which  I  had  been  steering  my 
course  the  day  before,  rose  majestically  from  the  sea, 
as  if  pushing  up  into  the  very  skies  a  lofty  mountain 
peak,  upon  which  the  winter  had  dropped  its  diadem 
of  snows.  There  was  no  land  visible  except  the  coast 
upon  which  I  stood. 

The  sea  beneath  me  was  a  mottled  sheet  of  white 
and  dark  patches,  these  latter  being  either  soft  decay- 
ing ice  or  places  where  the  ice  had  wholly  disap- 
peared. These  spots  were  heightened  in  intensity  of 
shade  and  multiplied  in  size  as  they  receded,  until 
the  belt  of  the  water-sky  blended  them  all  together 
into  one  uniform  color  of  dark  blue.  The  old  and  solid 
floes  (some  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  others  miles, 
across)  and  the  massive  ridges  and  wastes  of  hum- 
mocked  ice  which  lay  piled  between  them  and 
around  their  margins,  were  the  only  parts  of  the  sea 
which  retained  the  whiteness  and  solidity  of  winter. 

I  reserve  for  another  chapter  all  discussion  of  the 
value  of  the  observations  which  I  made  from  this 
point.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  all  the  evidences 
showed  that  I  stood  upon  the  shores  of  the  Polar 
Basin,  and  that  the  broad  ocean  lay  at  my  feet ;  that 


350  THE  JOURNEY  ENDED. 

the  land  upon  which  I  stood,  culminating  in  the  dis- 
tant cape  before  me,  was  but  a  point  of  land  projecting 
far  into  it,  like  the  Ceverro  Vostochnoi  Noss  of  the 
opposite  coast  of  Siberia ;  and  that  the  little  margin 
of  ice  which  lined  the  shore  was  being  steadily  worn 
away ;  and  within  a  month,  the  whole  sea  wrould  be 
as  free  from  ice  as  I  had  seen  the  north  water  of 
Baffin  Bay,  —  interrupted  only  by  a  moving  pack, 
drifting  to  and  fro  at  the  will  of  the  winds  and  cur- 
rents. 

To  proceed  further  north  was,  of  course,  impossible. 
The  crack  which  I  have  mentioned  would,  of  itself, 
have  prevented  us  from  making  the  opposite  land, 
and  the  ice  outside  the  bay  was  even  more  decayed 
than  inside.  Several  open  patches  were  observed 
near  the  shore,  and  in  one  of  these  there  was  seen  a 
flock  of  Dove/lie.  At  several  points  during  our  march 
up  Kennedy  Channel  I  had  observed  their  breeding- 
places,  but  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  see  the  birds 
at  this  locality  so  early  in  the  season.  Several  bur- 
gO  in  aster-gulls  flew  over  head,  making  their  way 
northward,  seeking  the  open  water  for  their  feeding 
grounds  and  summer  haunts.  Around  these  haunts 
of  the  birds  there  is  never  ice  after  the  early  days  of 
June. 

And  now  my  journey  was  ended,  and  I  had  nothing 
to  do  but .  make  my  way  back  to  Port  Foulke.  The 
advancing  season,  the  rapidity  with  which  the  thaw 
was  taking  place,  the  certainty  that  the  open  water 
was  eating  into  Smith  Sound  as  well  through  Baffin 
Bay  from  the  south,  as  through  Kennedy  Channel 
from  the  north,  thus  endangering  my  return  across 
to  the  Greenland  shore,  warned  me  that  I  had  Lin- 
gered long  enough. 


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PLANTING  THE  FLAG.  351 

It  now  only  remained  for  us  to  plant  our  flag  in 
token  of  our  discovery,  and  to  deposit  a  record  in 
proof  of  our  presence  The  flags l  were  tied  to  the 
whip-lash,  and  suspended  between  two  tall  rocks,  and 
while  we  were  building  a  cairn,  they  were  allowed  to 
flutter  in  the  breeze ;  then,  tearing  a  leaf  from  my 
note-book,  I  wrote  on  it  as  follows :  — 

"  This  point,  the  most  northern  land  that  has  ever  been  reached, 
was  visited  by  the  undersigned,  May  18th,  19th,  1861,  accompanied 
by  George  F.  Knorr,  traveling  with  a  dog-sledge.  We  arrived  here 
after  a  toilsome  march  of  forty-six  days  from  my  winter  harbor, 
near  Cape  Alexander,  at  the  mouth  of  Smith  Sound.  My  observa- 
tions place  us  in  latitude  81°  35',  longitude  70°  30',  W.  Our  fur- 
ther progress  was  stopped  by  rotten  ice  and  cracks.  Kennedy 
Channel  appears  to  expand  into  the  Polar  Basin ;  and,  satisfied  that 
it  is  navigable  at  least  during  the  months  of  July,  August,  and  Sep- 
tember, I  go  hence  to  my  winter  harbor,  to  make  another  trial  to 
get  through  Smith  Sound  with  my  vessel,  after  the  ice  breaks  up 
this  summer. 

«I.  I.  HAYES. 

"  May  12th,  1861." 

This  record  being  carefully  secured  in  a  small  glass 
vial  which  I  brought  for  the  purpose,  was  deposited 
beneath  the  cairn ;  and  then  our  faces  were  turned 
homewards.  But  I  quit  the  place  with  reluctance. 

1  These  were  a  small  United  States  flag  (boat's  ensign),  which  had 
been  carried  in  the  South  Sea  Expedition  of  Captain  Wilkes,  U.  S.  NM 
and  afterwards  in  the  Arctic  Expeditions  of  Lieut.  Comg.  DeHaven  and 
Dr.  Kane ;  a  little  United  States  flag  which  had  been  committed  to  Mr. 
Sonntag  by  the  ladies  of  the  Albany  Academy  ;  two  diminutive  Masonic 
flags  intrusted  to  me,  —  one  by  the  Kane  Lodge  of  New  York,  the  other 
by  the  Columbia  Lodge  of  Boston ;  and  our  Expedition  signal-flag,  bear- 
ing the  Expedition  emblem,  the  Pole  Star — a  crimson  star,  on  a  white 
field  —  also  a  gift  from  fair  hands.  Being  under  the  obligation  of  a  sacred 
promise  to  unfurl  all  of  these  flags  at  the  most  northern  point  attained,  it 
was  my  pleasing  duty  to  carry  them  with  me  —  «  duty  rendered  none  the 
less  pleasing  by  the  circumstance  that,  together,  they  did  not  weigh  three 
pounds. 


o52  PLANTING  THE  FLAG. 

It  possessed  a  fascination  for  me,  and  it  was  with  no 
ordinary  sensations  that  I  contemplated  my  situation, 
with  one  solitary  companion,  in  that  hitherto  untrod- 
den desert ;  while  my  nearness  to  the  earth's  axis,  the 
consciousness  of  standing  upon  land  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  previous  observation,  the  reflections  which 
crossed  my  mind  respecting  the  vast  ocean  which  lay 
spread  out  before  me,  the  thought  that  these  ice- 
girdled  waters  might  lash  the  shores  of  distant  islands 
where  dwell  human  beings  of  an  unknown  race,  were 
circumstances  calculated  to  invest  the  very  air  with 
mystery,  to  deepen  the  curiosity,  and  to  strengthen 
the  resolution  to  persevere  in  my  determination  to 
sail  upon  this  sea  and  to  explore  its  furthest  limits ; 
and  as  I  recalled  the  struggles  which  had  been  made 
to  reach  this  sea,  —  through  the  ice  and  across  the 
ice, —  by  generations  of  brave  men,  it  seemed  as  if 
the  spirits  of  these  Old  Worthies  came  to  encourage 
me,  as  their  experience  had  already  guided  me ;  and 
I  felt  that  1  had  within  my  grasp  "  the  great  and 
notable  thing  "  which  had  inspired  the  zeal  of  sturdy 
Frobrisher,  and  that  I  had  achieved  the  hope  of 
matchless  Parry. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  OPEN  POLAR  SEA. —WIDTH  OF  THE  POLAR  BASIN.  — BOUNDARIES  OP  THB 
POLAR  BASIN.  — POLAR  CURRENTS.  — POLAR  ICE.  — THE  ICE-BELT.  —  ARCTIC 
NAVIGATION  AND  DISCOVERY.  —  THE  RUSSIAN  SLEDGE  EXPLORATIONS.  — 
WRANGEL'S  OPEN  SEA.  — PARRY'S  BOAT  EXPEDITION.  —  DR.  KANE'S  DISCOV- 
ERIES. —  EXPANSION  OF  SMITH  SOUND.  —  GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS  DRAWN 
FROM  MY  OWN  DISCOVERIES  AND  THOSE  OF  MY  PREDECESSORS. 

LET  us  pause  here  a  few  moments,  in  order  that  we 
may  take  a  brief  survey  of  the  Polar  Basin  and  arrive 
at  a  correct  understanding  of  what  is  meant  by  the 
term,  "  OPEN  POLAR  SEA,"  so  often  used. 

By  referring  to  the  circumpolar  map,  the  reader 
will  be  able  to  form  a  more  accurate  judgment  than 
he  could  from  the  most  elaborate  description.  He 
will  observe  that  about  the  North  Pole  of  the  earth 
there  is  an  extensive  sea,  or,  more  properly,  ocean, 
with  an  average  diameter  of  more  than  two  thousand 
miles.  He  will  observe  that  this  sea  is  almost  com- 
pletely surrounded  by  land,  and  that  its  shores  are, 
for  the  most  part,  well  defined, —  the  north  coasts  of 
Greenland  and  Grinnell  Land,  which  project  farthest 
into  it,  being  alone  undetermined.  He  will  note  that 
these  shores  occupy,  to  a  certain  extent,  a  uniform 
distance  from  the  Pole,  and  are  everywhere  within 
the  region  of  perpetual  frost.  He  will  remember  that 
they  are  inhabited  everywhere  by  people  of  the  same 
race,  to  whom  the  soil  yields  no  subsistence,  who  live 
exclusively  by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  confine  their 
dwelling-places  either  to  the  coast  or  to  the  banks  of 

23 


354  BOUNDARIES  OF   THE  POLAR  BASIN. 

the  rivers  which  flow  northward.  He  will  observe 
that  the  long  line  of  coast  which  gives  lodgment  to- 
these  Arctic  nomads  is  interrupted  in  three  principal 
places ;  and  that  through  these  the  waters  of  the 
Polar  Sea  mingle  with  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Oceans,  —  these  breaks  being  Baffin  Bay, 
Behring  Strait,  and  the  broader  opening  between 
Greenland  and  Nova  Zembla;  and  if  he  traces  the 
currents  on  the  map  and  follows  the  Gulf  Stream  as 
it  flows  northward,  pouring  the  warm  waters  of  the 
Tropic  Zone  through  the  broad  gateway  east  of  Spitz- 
bergen  and  forcing  out  a  return  current  of  cold  waters 
to  the  west  of  Spitzbergen  and  through  Davis  Strait, 
he  will  very  readily  comprehend  why  in  this  incessant 
displacement  of  the  waters  of  the  Pole  by  the  waters 
of  the  Equator  the  great  body  of  the  former  is  never 
chilled  to  within  several  degrees  of  the  freezing-point ; 
and  since  it  is  probably  as  deep,  as  it  is  almost  as 
broad,  as  the  Atlantic  between  Europe  and  America, 
he  will  be  prepared  to  understand  that  this  vast 
body  of  water  tempers  the  whole  region  with  a 
warmth  above  that  which  is  otherwise  natural  to  it ; 
and  that  the  Almighty  hand,  in  the  all-wise  dispensa- 
tion of  His  power,  has  thus  placed  a  bar  to  its  conge- 
lation ;  and  he  will  read  in  this  another  symbol  of 
Nature's  great  law  of  circulation,  which,  giving  water 
to  the  parched  earth  and  moisture  to  the  air,  moderates 
as  well  the  temperature  of  the  zones  —  cooling  the 
Tropic  with  a  current  of  water  from  the  Frigid,  and 
warming  the  Frigid  with  a  current  from  the  Tropic.1 

1  The  temperature  of  the  air  at  the  North  Pole  has  furnished  a  fruitful 
theme  of  speculation,  both  in  connection  with  the  influence  of  the  sea  and 
of  the  sun.  I  have  before  me  a  highly  instructive  paper  on  the  climate  of 
the  North  Pole,  read  before  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London, 


POLAK  CURRENTS.  355 

Bearing  these  facts  in  mind,  the  reader  will  per- 
ceive that  it  is  the  surface-water  only  which  ever 
reaches  so  low  a  temperature  that  it  is  changed  to 
ice ;  and  he  will  also  peroeive  that  when  the  wind 
moves  the  surface-water,  the  particles  which  have  be- 
come chilled  by  contact  with  the  air  mingle  in  the 
rolling  waves  with  the  warm  waters  beneath,  and 
hence  that  ice  can  only  form  in  sheltered  places  or 
where  the  water  of  some  bay  is  so  shoal  and  the  cur- 
rent so  slack  that  it  becomes  chilled  to  the  very  bot- 
tom, or  where  the  air  over  the  sea  is  uniformly  calm. 
He  will  remember,  however,  that  the  winds  blow  as 
fiercely  over  the  Polar  Sea  as  in  any  other  quarter  of 
the  world  ;  and  he  will,  therefore,  have  no  difficulty 
in  comprehending  that  the  Polar  ice  covers  but  a 
small  part  of  the  Polar  water ;  and  that  it  exists  only 
where  it  is  nursed  and  protected  by  the  land.  It 
clings  to  the  coasts  of  Siberia,  and  springing  thence 
across  Behring  Strait  to  America,  it  hugs  the  Ameri- 
can shore,  fills  the  narrow  channels  which  drain  the 

April  10th,  1865,  by  W.  E.  Hickson,  Esq.,  from  which  I  extract  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

"  It  had  always  been  supposed  that  the  immediate  areas  of  the  Poles 
must  be  the  coldest  regions  of  the  globe,  because  the  farthest  points  from 
the  equator.  Hence  the  argument  that  the  higher  the  latitude  the 
greater  must  be  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  navigation.  Quite  an  op- 
posite opinion,  however,  had  begun  to  prevail  among  meteorologists  on 
the  publication,  in  1817,  of  the  Isothermal  system  of  Alexander  Von 
Humboldt,  which  showed  that  distance  from  the  equator  is  no  rule  for 
cold,  as  the  equator  is  not  a  parallel  of  maximum  heat.  The  line  of  max- 
imum heat  crosses  the  Greenwich  meridian,  in  Africa,  fifteen  degrees 
north  of  the  equator,  and  rises,  to  the  eastward,  five  degrees  higher,  run- 
ning along  the  southern  edge  of  the  Desert  of  Sahara.  In  1821,  Sir 
Da*  id  Brewster  pointed  out,  in  a  paper  on  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
glol  e,  the  probability  of  the  thermometer  being  found  to  range  ten  degrees 
higher  at  the  Pole  than  in  some  other  parts  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  No  new 
facts  have  since  been  discovered  to  invalidate  this  conclusion  —  many,  on 
the  contrary,  have  come  to  light  tending  to  confirm  it." 


356       •  THE   ICE-BELT. 

Polar  waters  into  Baffin  Bay  through  the  Parry  Ar- 
chipelago, crosses  thence  to  Greenland,  from  Green- 
land to  Spitzbergen,  and  from  Spitzbergen  to  Nova 
Zembla,  —  thus  investing  the  Pole  in  an  uninter- 
rupted land-clinging  belt  of  ice,  more  or  less  broken 
as  well  in  winter  as  in  summer,  and  the  fragments 
ever  moving  to  and  fro,  though  never  widely  separat- 
ing, forming  a  barrier  against  which  all  the  arts  and 
energies  of  man  have  not  hitherto  prevailed. 

If  the  reader  would  further  pursue  the  inquiry,  let 
him  place  one  leg  of  a  pair  of  dividers  on  the  map 
near  the  North  Pole  (say  in  latitude  86°,  longitude 
160°  W.),  and  inscribe  a  circle  two  thousand  miles  in 
diameter,  and  he  will  have  touched  the  margin  of  the 
land  and  the  mean  line  of  the  ice-belt  throughout  its 
wide  circuit,  and  have  covered  an  area  of  more  than 
three  millions  of  square  miles. 

Although  this  ice-belt  has  not  been  broken  through, 
it  has  been  penetrated  in  many  places,  and  its  south- 
ern margin  has  been  followed,  partly  along  the  waters 
formed  near  the  land  by  the  discharging  rivers  of  the 
Arctic  water-sheds  of  Asia  and  America,  and  partly 
by  working  through  the  ice  which  is  always  more  or 
less  loosened  by  the  summer.  It  was  in  this  manner 
that  various  navigators  have  attempted  the  north- 
west passage  ;  and  it  was  after  following  the  coast 
line  from  Behring  Strait  to  Banks  Land,  and  then 
pushing  through  the  broken  ice  that  Sir  Robert  Mc- 
Clure  finally  succeeded  in  effecting  this  long-sought- 
for  passage  —  not,  however,  by  carrying  his  ship  com- 
pletely through,  but  by  traveling  over  the  winter  ice 
three  hundred  miles  to  Wellington  Channel,  whence 
he  returned  home  through  Baffin  Bay  in  a  ship  that 
had  come  from  the  eastward.  And  it  was  in  this 


ICE  NAVIGATION.  357 

Bame  manner  that  Captain  Collinson,  passing  from 
west  to  east,  reached  almost  to  the  spot  where  per- 
ished Franklin,  who  had  entered  the  ice  from  the  op- 
posite direction.  And  it  is  thus,  also,  that  the  Rus- 
sians have  explored  the  coasts  of  Siberia,  meeting 
but  two  insurmountable  obstacles  to  the  navigation 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  side,  namely,  Cape 
Jakan,  against  which  the  ice  is  always  jammed,  and 
which  Behring  tried  in  vain  to  pass,  and  Cape  Ce- 
verro  Yostochnoi,  which  the  gallant  young  Lieuten- 
ant Prondtschikoff  made  such  heroic  efforts  to  sur- 
mount. And  it  was  by  the  same  method  of  naviga- 
tion that  the  Amsterdam  pilot,  earnest  old  William 
Barentz,  strove,  in  1598,  to  find  by  the  northeast  a 
passage  to  Cathay. 

The  efforts  to  break  through  the  belt,  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  finding  clear  water  about  the  Pole,  have 
been  very  numerous,  and  they  have  been  made 
through  every  opening  from  the  southern  waters  to 
the  Polar  Sea.  To  follow  the  history  of  those  vari- 
ous attempts  would  not  fall  within  my  present  pur- 
pose. It  is  but  a  long  record  of  defeat,  so  far  as  con- 
cerned the  single  object  of  getting  to  the  Pole.  Cook, 
and  all  who  have  come  after  him,  have  failed  to  find 
the  ice  sufficiently  open  to  admit  of  navigation  north- 
ward from  Behring  Strait,  as  Hudson  and  his  follow- 
ers have  through  the  Spitzbergen  Sea ;  and  all  the 
efforts  through  Baffin  Bay  have  been  equally  futile. 
The  most  persevering  attempts  to  break  through  the 
ice-belt  have  been  made  to  the  west  of  Spitzbergen, 
and  in  this  quarter  ships  have  approached  nearer  to 
the  Pole  than  in  any  other.  The  highest  well- 
authenticated  position  achieved  by  any  navigator 
was  that  of  Scorsby,  who  reached  latitude  81°  30,' 


358  WRANGEL'S   OPEN   SEA. 

although  it  is  claimed  that  Hudson  had  gone  still 
further;  and  if  the  stories  which  Daines  Barrington 
picked  up  from  the  fishermen  of  Amsterdam  and  Hull 
are  to  be  relied  on,  then  the  old  Dutch  and  English 
voyagers  have  gone  even  beyond  this,  seeking  new 
fishing-grounds  and  finding  everywhere  an  open  sea. 
There  is,  however,  as  before  observed,  no  well-authen- 
ticated record  of  any  ship  having  attained  a  higher 
latitude  than  that  of  Scorsby. 

Failing  to  get  through  the  ice,  explorers  have  next 
tried  to  cross  it  with  sledges.  In  this  the  Russians 
have  done  most.  Many  enterprising  officers  of  the 
Russian  service,  using  the  dog-sledges  of  the  native 
tribes  inhabiting  the  Siberian  coast,  have,  in  the  early 
spring,  boldly  struck  out  upon  the  Polar  Sea.  Most 
conspicuous  among  them  was  Admiral  Wrangel,  then 
a  young  lieutenant  of  the  Russian  Navy,  whose  ex- 
plorations, continued  through  several  years,  showed 
that,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  the  same  condition  of 
the  sea  existed  to  the  northward.  The  travelers  were 
invariably  arrested  by  open  water  ;  and  the  existence 
of  a  Polynia  or  open  sea  above  the  New  Siberian  Isl- 
ands, became  a  fact  as  well  established  as  that  the 
rivers  flow  downward  to  the  sea. 

Sir  Edward  Parry  tried  the  same  method  above 
Spitzbergen,  using,  however,  men  instead  of  dogs  for 
draft,  and  carrying  boats  for  safety  in  the  event  of 
the  ice  breaking  up.  Parry  traveled  northward  until 
the  ice,  becoming  loosened  by  the  advancing  season, 
carried  him  south  faster  than  he  was  traveling 
north ;  and  after  a  while  it  broke  up  under  him,  and 
set  him  adrift  in  the  open  sea. 

Next  came  Captain  Inglefield's  attempt  to  get  into 
this  circumpolar  water  through  Smith  Sound;  and 


KANE'S  OPEN   SEA.  359 

then  Dr.  Kane's.  The  latter's  vessel  could  not  be 
forced  further  into  the  ice  than  Van  Rensselaer  Har- 
bor ;  and,  like  the  Russians,  he  continued  the-  work 
with  sledges.  After  many  embarrassments  and  fail- 
ures in  his  attempts  to  surmount  the  difficulties  pre- 
sented by  hummocked  ice  of  the  Sound,  one  of  his 
parties  succeeded  finally  in  reaching  the  predicted 
open  water ;  and,  to  quote  Dr.  Kane's  words,  "  from 
an  elevation  of  five  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  this  water 
was  still  without  a  limit,  moved  by  a  heavy  swell,  free 
of  ice,  and  dashing  in  surf  against  a  rock-bound 
shore."  This  shore  was  the  shore  of  the  land  which 
he  named  Washington  Land. 

Next,  after  Dr.  Kane's,  came  my  own  undertaking ; 
and  the  last  chapter  leaves  me  with  my  sledge  upon 
the  shores  of  that  same  sea  which  Dr.  Kane  describes, 
about  one  hundred  miles  to  the  north  and  west  of  the 
point  from  which  one  of  his  parties  looked  out  upon 
the  iceless  waters.  My  own  opinion  of  what  I  saw 
and  of  the  condition  of  this  sea,  which  Wrangel  found 
open  on  the  opposite  side  from  where  I  stood,  and 
which  Kane's  party  had  found  open  to  my  right,  and 
which  Parry's  journey  showed  to  be  open  above 
Spitzbergen,  may  be  inferred  from  what  I  have  al- 
ready briefly  stated,  and  may  be  more  briefly  con- 
cluded. 

The  boundaries  of  the  Polar  Basin  are  sufficiently 
well  defined  to  enable  us  to  form  a  rational  estimate 
of  the  unknown  coast-lines  of  Greenland  and  Grin- 
nell  Land,  —  the  only  parts  of  the  extensive  circuit 
remaining  unexplored.  The  trend  of  the  northern 
coast-line  of  Greenland  is  approximately  defined  by 
the  reasonable  analogies  of  physical  geography ;  and 
the  same  process  of  reasoning  forbids  the  conclusion 


SCO  EXPANSION   OF   SMITH    SOUND. 

that  Grinnell  Land  extends  beyond  the  limit  of  my 
explorations.  I  hold,  as  Inglefield  did  before  me,  that 
Smith  Sound  expands  into  the  Polar  Basin.  Beyond 
the  narrow  passage  between  Cape  Alexander  and 
Cape  Isabella,  the  water  widens  steadily  up  to  Cape 
Frazer,  where  it  expands  abruptly.  On  the  Green- 
land side  the  coast  trends  regularly  to  the  eastward, 
until  it  reaches  Cape  Agassiz,  where  it  dips  under 
the  glacier  and  is  lost  to  observation.  That  cape 
is  composed  of  primitive  rock,  and  is  the  end  of  a 
mountain  spur.  This  same  rock  is  visible  at  many 
places  along  the  coast,  but  is  mostly  covered  with  the 
deposit  of  sandstone  and  greenstone,  which  forms  the 
tall  cliffs  of  the  coast-line,  until  it  crops  out  about 
thirty  miles  in  the  interior  into  a  mountain  chain, 
which,  (in  company  with  Mr.  Wilson),  I  crossed,  in 
1853,  to  find  the  mer  de  glace  hemmed  in  behind  it. 
Further  to  the  north  the  mer  de  glace  has  poured 
down  into  the  Polar  Sea,  and  pushing  its  way  onward 
through  the  water,  it  has  at  length  reached  Washing- 
ton Land,  and  swelled  southward  into  Smith  Sound. 
That  the  face  of  Humboldt  Glacier  trends  more  to 
the  eastward  than  is  exhibited  on  Dr.  Kane's  chart,  I 
have  shown ;  and  that  Washington  Land  will  be 
found  to  lie  much  farther  in  the  same  direction,  I 
have  sufficient  grounds  for  believing.  According  to 
the  report  of  Morton,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  this 
island  is  but  a  continuation  of  the  same  granitic  ridge 
which  breaks  off  abruptly  at  Cape  Agassiz,  and  ap- 
pears again  above  the  sea  at  Cape  Forbes,  in  a  line 
conformable  with  the  Greenland  range.  It  is  prob- 
able then  that  at  some  remote  period  this  Washing- 
ton Land  stood  in  the  expansion  of  Smith  Sound, 
washed  by  water  on  every  side,  —  that  lying  to  the 


THE   OPEN  POLAR   SEA.  361 

eastward  being  now  supplanted  by  the  great  glacier 
of  Humboldt ;  that  lying  to  the  westward  now  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Kennedy  Channel. 

With  the  warm  flood  of  the  Gulf  Stream  pouring 
liorthward,  and  keeping  the  waters  of  the  Polar  Sea 
at  a  temperature  above  the  freezing  point,  while  the 
winds,  blowing  as  constantly  under  the  Arctic  as  un- 
der the  Tropic  sky,  and  the  ceaseless  currents  of  the 
sea  and  the  tide-flow  of  the  surface,  keep  the  waters 
ever  in  movement,  it  is  not  possible,  as  I  have  be- 
fore observed,  that  even  any  considerable  portion  of 
this  extensive  sea  can  be  frozen  over.  At  no  point 
within  the  Arctic  Circle  has  there  been  found  an  ice- 
belt  extending,  either  in  winter  or  in  summer,  more 
than  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  miles  from  land.  And 
even  in  the  narrow  channels  separating  the  islands 
of  the  Parry  Archipelago,  in  Baffin  Bay,  in  the  North 
Water,  and  the  mouth  of  Smith  Sound,  —  everywhere, 
indeed,  within  the  broad  area  of  the  Frigid  Zone,  the 
waters  will  not  freeze  except  when  sheltered  by  the 
land,  or  when  an  ice-pack,  accumulated  by  a  long 
continuance  of  winds  from  one  quarter,  affords  the 
same  protection.  That  the  sea  does  not  close  except 
when  at  rest,  I  had  abundant  reason  to  know  during 
the  late  winter ;  for  at  all  times,  as  this  narrative  fre- 
quently records,  even  when  the  temperature  of  the 
air  was  below  the  freezing  point  of  mercury,  I  could 
hear  from  the  deck  of  the  schooner  the  roar  of  the 
beating  waves. 

It  would  be  needless  for  me  to  detain  the  reader 
with  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  the  condition 
of  the  sea  as  observed  by  me  at  the  point  from  which 
the  last  chapter  left  us  returning,  as  the  facts  speak 
for  themselves.  It  will  not,  however,  be  out  of  place 


362  THE  OPEN   WATER. 

to  observe  that  no  one  whose  eye  has  ever  rested 
upon  the  Arctic  ice  or  witnessed  the  changes  of  the 
Arctic  seasons,  could  fail  to  realize  that  in  a  very  short 
time,  as  the  summer  advanced,  the  open  water  would 
steadily  eat  its  way  southward,  through  Kennedy 
Channel,  into  Smith  Sound. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

>N  BOARD  THE  SCHOONER.  —  REVIEW  OF  THE  JOURNEY.  — THE  RETURN  DOWN 
KENNEDY  CHANNEL.  — A  SEVERE  MARCH  IN  A  SNOW-STORM.  —  ROTTEN  ICE. 
—  EFFECTS  OF  A  GALE.  —  RETURNING  THROUGH  THE  HUMMOCKS.  —  THE 
DOGS  BREAKING  DOWN.  —  ADRIFT  ON  A  FLOE  AT  CAIRN  POINT.  —  THE 
OPEN  WATER  COMPELS  US  TO  TAKE  TO  THE  LAND.  —  REACHING  THE 
SCHOONER.  —  PROJECTING  A  CHART.  —  THE  NEW  SOUND.  —  MY  NORTHERN 
DISCOVERIES. 

PORT  FOULKE,  June  3d. 

BACK  again  on  board  the  schooner  after  two  months' 
toiling  and  journeying  on  the  ice. 

Since  I  left  her  deck  on  the  3d  of  April,  I  have 
traveled  not  less  than  1300  miles,  and  not  less  than 
1600  since  first  setting  out  in  March.  I  am  some- 
what battered  and  weather-beaten,  but  a  day  or  so  of 
rest  and  civilized  comfort,  the  luxury  of  a  wash  and  a 
bed,  and  of  a  table  covered  with  clean  crockery  filled 
with  the  best  of  things  that  my  old  Swedish  cook  can 
turn  out,  are  wondrously  rejuvenating,  —  potent  as 
the  touch  of  Hebe  to  the  war-worn  lolas. 

Affairs  seem  to  have  gone  on  well  at  the  schooner. 
Radcliffe  has  given  me  his  report,  and  it  is  satisfac- 
tory. McCormick  has  presented  a  full  history  of 
events  since  leaving  me  among  the  hummocks ;  but 
I  refrain  now  from  recording  them  until  I  have  set 
down  some  of  the  leading  incidents  of  my  journey, 
while  they  are  yet  fresh  in  my  mind.  Besides,  Mc- 
Cormick tells  me  that  he  is  unable  to  repair  the 
schooner  that  she  may  be  ice-worthy ;  and,  as  I  am 
unwilling  to  accept  this  conclusion  without  a  further 


364  REVIEW   OF   THE  JOURNEY. 

examination  than  I  have  yet  been  able  to  make,  I 
postpone  any  further  allusion  to  the  matter.  To  con- 
less  the  truth,  the  last  days  of  the  homeward  journey 
used  us  all  up  pretty  thoroughly ;  and,  although  the 
confined  atmosphere  of  the  cabin  is  oppressive  to  me 
after  so  long  an  exposure  in  the  open  air,  yet  the 
doctor  (which  is  my  doppelganger]  warns  me  to  keep 
to  this  lounge  for  a  day  or  so.  I  am  not,  however, 
forbidden  to  write. 

I  have  returned  well  satisfied  that  Kennedy  Chan- 
nel is  navigable ;  and  it  remains  only  to  be  proven 
whether  Smith  Sound  will  open  sufficiently  to  permit 
a  passage  through.  With  steam,  I  should  have  no 
doubt  whatever  of  my  ability  to  force  it ;  with  sails, 
of  course,  the  effort  is  filled  with  greater  uncertainty ; 
and  yet,  I  think,  the  chances  are  with  rne. 

I  am  fully  convinced  that  a  route  to  the  Pole,  —  a 
route,  certainly,  not  wholly  unobstructed  by  ice,  yet 
free  enough  at  least  for  steam  navigation,  is  open 
every  summer  from  Cape  Frazer ;  and  if  I  can  pull 
through  to  that  point,  then  I  shall  have  accomplished 
the  full  measure  of  my  desires.  In  truth,  this  is  the 
real  difficulty.  My  views  of  the  whole  matter  will  be 
set  down  here  on  the  spot  as  opportunity  offers  from 
day  to  day.  To-morrow,  I  hope  to  be  sufficiently  re- 
covered from  the  fatigues  of  the  journey  to  begin  the 
discussion  of  my  materials,  and  the  projection  of  my 
chart. 

And  now,  with  a  heart  filled  with  thankfulness  to 
that  Great  Being  who  suffereth  not  even  a  sparrow  to 
fall  to  the  ground  without  His  notice,  I  have  here  the 
happiness  to  record  that  in  these  two  months  of  peril- 
ous traveling,  He  has  spared  me  and  every  member 
of  my  party  from  serious  accident  or  permanent  in 
jury. 


THE  RETURN.  365 

June  1th. 

I  have  worked  up  some  of  my  sights,  and  rudely 
sketched  in  the  coast-line  of  my  track-chart.  It 
makes  a  respectable  show  for  our  summer's  sledging. 
Since  the  middle  of  March,  I  have  covered  the  en- 
tire ground  gone  over  by  Dr.  Kane's  various  parties, 
except  the  coast  of  Washington  Land,  and  have  ex- 
tended the  former  surveys  considerably  to  the  north 
and  west.  But  the  important  additions  which  I  have 
been  enabled  to  make  to  the  geographical  knowledge 
of  the  region  I  regard  as  of  secondary  interest  to  the 
circumstance  that  my  journey  has  shown  the  practica- 
bility of  this  route  into  the  Polar  Basin. 

My  return  southward  from  the  shores  of  the  Polar 
Sea  is  not  recorded  in  my  field-diary.  There  is  no 
record  after  we  had  turned  our  faces  homeward. 
That  water-soaked  and  generally  dilapidated-looking 
book,  which  now  lies  open  on  the  table  before  me, 
breaks  off  thus  :  — 

"  Halted  in  the  lee  of  a  huge  ice-cliff,  seeking  shel- 
ter from  a  fierce  storm  that  set  upon  us  soon  after 
we  started  south.  We  have  made  about  ten  miles, 
and  have  from  forty  to  fifty  yet  to  make  before  we 
reach  Jensen.  We  have  given  the  dogs  the  last  of 
our  food.  It  is  snowing  and  blowing  dreadfully." 

The  storm  continued  with  unabated  violence 
through  the  next  day ;  -and  as  the  wind  shrieked 
along  the  tall  cliffs,  carrying  with  it  the  drifting 
snow,  I  thought  that  I  had  scarcely  ever  seen  or 
heard  any  thing  more  dismal.  Unable  to  bear  the 
chilliness  of  our  imperfect  shelter,  (we  had  no  means 
of  making  a  snow-hut,)  we  pushed  on,  wading 
through  deep  drifts  in  addition  to  climbing  the 
rocks  and  masses  of  ice,  which,  in  going  north,  had 


366  LONG  AND   WEARY  MARCH. 

everywhere  more  or  less  embarrassed  our  progress. 
The  snow-drifts  were  often  so  deep  that  the  dogs  had 
much  trouble  in  wading  through  them,  and  it  was 
all  that  they  could  do  to  drag  the  now  quite  empty 
sledge.  After  a  time  they  became  so  much  exhausted 
that  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  we  could 
force  them  forward.  The  poor  beasts  fell  in  their 
tracks  the  moment  the  whip  ceased  to  be  applied.  I 
had  never  before  seen  them  so  much  broken.  To 
halt  was  of  little  use,  as  rest,  without  food,  would 
do  harm  rather  than  good ;  and  as  we  had  no  shel- 
ter, and  in  the  item  of  food  were  as  badly  off  as  the 
dogs,  there  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  to  hold  on 
and  get  through  to  Jensen's  camp,  or  perish  in  the 
storm.  Fortunately,  the  wind  was  at  our  backs. 

We  kept  on  in  our  winding  course  through  the 
pelting  snow,  and  reached,  finally,  the  north  side  of 
the  bay  above  Jensen's  camp ;  and  then  the  hardest 
part  of  the  journey  was  to  come.  The  tramp  across 
that  bay  comes  back  to  me  now  as  the  vague  recol- 
lection of  some  ugly  dream.  I  scarcely  remember 
how  we  got  through  it.  I  recall  only  an  endless 
pounding  of  the  dogs,  who  wanted  to  lie  down  with 
every  step,  the  ceaseless  wading,  the  endless  crunch 
of  the  wearied  feet  breaking  through  the  old  snow- 
crust,  the  laborious  climbing  over  hummocks,  the 
pushing  and  lifting  of  the  sledge,  —  and,  through  the 
blinding  snow,  I  remember,  at  length,  catching  sight 
of  the  land  and  of  hearing  the  cry  of  Jensen's  dogs ; 
and  then  of  crawling  up  the  ice-foot  to  his  snow-hut. 
Through  all  these  last  hours,  we  were  aware  of  a  de- 
sire to  halt  and  sleep  ;  and  it  is  fortunate  for  us  that 
we  did  not  lose  consciousness  of  its  dangers. 

Without  waiting  to  be  fed,  the  dogs  tumbled  over 


A  LAST  LOOK.  367 

on  the  snow  the  moment  they  were  left  to  themselves ; 
and  we,  dragging  ourselves  inside  the  hut  which  Mc- 
Donald had  made  to  shelter  his  sick  companion,  fell 
into  a  dead,  dead  sleep.  Jensen  noted  the  time.  We 
had  been  twenty-two  hours  on  the  way,  since  leaving 
our  shelter  beneath  the  ice-cliff. 

When  we  awoke,  the  storm  had  died  away,  and  the 
sun  was  shining  brightly.  McDonald  had  looked 
after  the  dogs,  and  had  ready  for  us  a  hot  pot  of 
coffee  and  an  abundant  breakfast,  which  thirty-four 
hours'  fasting  had  prepared  us  fully  to  appreciate. 
Refreshed  by  this,  I  climbed  the  hill-side  for  a  last 
look  at  the  sea  which  we  were  leaving.  The  gale 
had  told  somewhat  upon  it.  The  dark  water-sky  to 
the  northeast  had  followed  us  down  the  coast,  the 
wind  had  acted  upon  the  open  places  in  the  ice,  and 
the  little  waves  had  eaten  away  their  margins,  and 
magnified  them  greatly,  while  many  of  the  old  floes 
had  finally  yielded  to  the  immense  pressure  of  the 
wind,  and  had  moved  in  their  winter  moorings,  tear- 
ing up  the  rotten  ice  about  them.  Several  cracks 
had  opened  almost  to  the  shore,  and  the  "hinge"  of 
the  ice-foot  had  mainly  tumbled  away. 

Jensen  was  better,  but  still  moved  with  much  diffi- 
culty and  pain.  By  sitting  on  the  sledge,  however, 
he  thought  that  he  should  be  able  to  drive  his  dogs ; 
so  I  gave  Knorr  our  entire  cargo.  This  cargo  was 
now  reduced  to  small  dimensions,  and  consisted  of 
nothing  but  our  buffalo-skins,  rifle,  my  instruments, 
and  a  few  geological  specimens.  Our  food  was  con- 
sumed to  the  last  pound,  and  hence  we  must  go  sup- 
perless  if  we  did  not  reach  our  next  cache,  where,  if 
the  bears  should  not  have  discovered  it,  we  had  one 
meal  buried  under  a  heap  of  stones. 


368  THE   SHORE-ICE. 

June  5th. 

I  resume  the  narrative. 

The  march  to  the  cache  was  a  very  tedious  one, 
but  we  took  it  leisurely,  and  got  through  with  it  in 
sixteen  hours,  to  find  our  food  unmolested.  The  re- 
peated halts  to  rest  the  dogs  gave  me  abundant  leis- 
ure to  search  among  the  limestone  cliffs  for  further 
fossil  remains,  and  my  exertions  were  rewarded  with 
a  valuable  collection.  It  is,  perhaps,  too  much  to  say 
that  they  are  fossils  of  the  Silurian  era,  from  a  hasty 
examination  ;  but  I  think  it  more  than  probable. 

I  had  also  opportunity  to  measure  some  of  the 
masses  of  ice  which  had  been  forced  upon  the  shore. 
In  many  places  these  masses  were  crowded  together, 
forming  an  almost  impassable  barrier.  In  other 
places  the  ice-foot  had  been  torn  through,  and  in  one 
spot  a  table  sixty  feet  in  thickness  and  forty  yards 
across  had  been  crowded  on  the  sloping  shore,  push- 
ing up  the  loose,  rocky  debris  which  lay  at  the  base  of 
the  cliffs ;  and  when  the  pack  that  had  caused  the 
disturbance  had  drifted  away,  this  fragment  was  left 
with  its  lower  edge  above  the  tide.  Around  it  were 
piled  other  masses  ;  and,  in  order  to  pass  it,  we  were 
obliged  to  climb  far  up  the  hill-side. 

Our  next  day's  journey  was  even  more  difficult,  as 
we  became  entangled  among  deep  snow-drifts  below 
Cape  Frazer,  and,  on  account  of  the  rotten  condi- 
tion of  the  ice  lining  the  shore,  we  could  not  take  to 
the  ice-fields.  We  tried  twice,  and  came  near  paying 
dearly  for  the  experiment.  One  of  the  teams  got  in 
bodily,  and  was  extricated  with  difficulty ;  while,  on 
the  other  occasion,  I,  acting  in  my  usual  capacity  of 
pilot,  saved  myself  from  a  cold  bath  with  my  ice-pole, 
which,  plunging  through  the  rotten  ice  and  disappear- 


SIGHTING   GREENLAND.  SGD 

ing  out  of  sight,  gave  me  timely  warning ;  so  we  put 
back  again  to  the  more  secure  land-ice. 

In  the  bay  below  Cape  Napoleon  we  found,  on  the 
following  day,  secure  footing,  and  reached  Cape 
Hawks  without  difficulty,  in  two  more  marches. 
Thence  we  proceeded  to  follow  our  outward  track 
through  the  hummocks.  The  sledges  being  now  light, 
and  Jensen  having  so  far  improved  as  to  be  able  to 
walk,  we  experienced  less  embarrassment  than  on  our 
outward  journey  ;  but  the  dogs  were  now  in  a  very 
different  condition,  and  lightness  of  load  leveled  not 
the  hummocks  and  made  not  the  steep  places  smooth, 
nor  the  ice  less  sharp,  nor  the  snow-crusts  less  treach- 
erous. The  task  was  wearisome  and  exhausting  to 
the  last  degree,  —  a  hard  struggle,  destructive  to  the 
energies  of  men  and  dogs  alike. 

Some  snow  had  fallen,  but,  fortunately,  the  wind 
had  drifted  it  from  our  tracks  in  many  places,  and  we 
found  our  way  to  the  small  provision  caches  which  we 
had  left  going  north,  and,  luckily,  they  had  all  escaped 
the  observation  of  the  bears  except  one ;  but,  having 
made  a  good  march  on  the  first  day  from  Cape  Hawks, 
we  picked  up  the  first  cache  we  came  to,  and  thus 
saved  a  day's  food,  —  a  piece  of  good  fortune  which 
we  had  not  counted  upon. 

The  coast  of  Greenland  rose  at  length  into  view, 
and,  steadily  rising  day  by  day,  we  came  within  sight 
of  Cairn  Point ;  but,  for  some  time  previous,  we  were 
warned  of  the  rapid  advance  of  the  season  by  the 
dark  water-sky  which  lay  before  us,  showing  that  the 
open  water  extended  up  to  the  Point,  for  which  we 
were  shaping  our  course.  On  the  north  side  of  it, 
however,  the  ice  appeared  to  be  solid.  Thinking  that 
we  could  make  the  land  in  that  direction,  we  pushed 

24 


370  ADRIFT   ON   AN   ICE-RAFT. 

on,  picking  our  way  over  the  rough  and  thicker  ice, 
and  avoiding  the  younger  ice,  which  was  everywhere 
porous,  and  occasionally  worn  completely  away.  At 
length,  when  about  a  mile  from  land,  we  came  upon  a 
crack,  which  had  opened  not  more  than  a  foot.  Cross- 
ing this,  we  held  in  directly  for  the  Point,  but,  unfor- 
tunately, the  wind  was  blowing  heavily  down  the 
Sound ;  and,  as  we  neared  the  land,  we  found  that  the 
water  had  eaten  in  between  the  ice  and  the  shore, 
obliging  us  to  keep  up  the  coast.  To  our  horror  and 
dismay,  we  now  discovered  that  the  crack  which  we 
had  crossed  had  opened  at  least  twenty  yards,  and  we 
were  adrift  upon  an  ice-raft  in  an  open  sea,  without 
power  to  help  ourselves. 

The  movement  of  the  ice  was  slow.  After  waiting 
a  short  time,  irresolute  as  to  what  course  we  should 
pursue,  it  was  observed  that  the  outer  end  of  the 
loosened  floe  was  moving,  while  the  inner  edge  was 
almost  stationary,  owing  to  a  small  iceberg,  which, 
being  aground  and  fastened  to  the  floe  itself,  formed 
a  pivot  about  which  we  were  revolving.  If  this  berg 
held,  it  was  evident  that  the  floe  would  strike  the 
land,  and  we  approached  nearer  to  its  margin. 

The  event  which  we  had  so  eagerly  desired  now 
happened;  and,  dashing  forward  when  the  collision 
came,  we  managed  to  get  upon  the  land-ice.  The 
tide,  being  at  full  flood,  facilitated  the  undertaking. 
The  contact  did  not  long  continue.  The  rotten  edge 
of  the  floe  broke  loose  from  the  little  berg  which 
had  given  us  this  most  fortunate  assistance,  and  we 
were  not  sorry  to  see  the  ice-raft  drifting  away  with- 
out us. 

By  this  time,  the  dogs  had  become  more  broken. 
They  had  borne  up  admirably  during  the  journey 


TAKING   TO   THE  LAND.  371 

north,  but  the  scant  rations  which  we  had  left  behind 
for  the  return  journey  were  found  to  be  insufficient 
to  support  their  strength,  especially  as  they  had,  for 
some  time,  Jensen's  additional  weight  to  carry.  One 
of  them  gave  out  completely,  and  died  in  a  fit,  during 
the  first  day's  journey  in  the  hummocks ;  two  others 
followed  soon  afterward;  while  another,  having  be- 
come unable  either  to  pull  or  follow,  was  shot.  Much 
to  my  surprise,  as  soon  as  the  bullet  struck  the  ani- 
mal, wounding  him  but  slightly  and  causing  him  to 
set  up  a  terrible  cry,  his  companions  in  the  team  flew 
upon  him  and  tore  him  to  pieces  in  an  instant,  and 
those  who  were  lucky  enough  to  get  a  fragment  of 
him  were  tearing  the  flesh  from  his  bones  almost  be- 
fore the  echo  of  his  last  howl  had  died  away  in  the 
solitude. 

The  sea  below  Cairn  Point  was  filled  with  loose  ice, 
evidently  broken  adrift  by  a  very  recent  gale.  By 
keeping  to  the  land-ice  we  managed  to  work  our  way 
down  the  coast,  and  got  around  Cape  Hatherton ;  but, 
below  this,  the  ice-foot,  too,  was  gone,  thus  obliging 
us  to  take  to  the  land.  To  cross  the  mountains  with 
our  sledges  was,  of  course,  impracticable ;  so  we  were 
compelled  to  abandon  them  until  such  time  as  we 
could  come  for  them  in  a  boat. 

The  land  journey  was  very  tedious  and  tiresome, 
exhausted  and  foot-sore  as  we  were  already;  but 
we  managed  better  than  the  dogs.  Most  of  them 
sneaked  away  as  soon  as  loosened  from  the  sledges, 
and  would  not  follow  us ;  and  when  sought  for  could 
not  be  found.  I  did  not  feel  apprehensive  for 
them,  as  I  supposed  they  merely  needed  rest,  and 
would  follow  our  tracks  to  the  vessel.  Three  of 
them  only  stuck  to  us.  One  is  the  noble  old  beast, 


372  A  NEW  SOUND. 

Oosisoak ;  another  is  his  brave  queen,  Arkadik ;  and 
the  third  Nenook,  the  finest  of  Kalutunah's  dogs. 
Three  others  have  come  in  since ;  but  four  are  yet 
missing.  I  have  sent  out  to  seek  them,  without  suc- 
cess. I  much  fear  that  they  will  not  have  strength  to 
drag  themselves  on  board. 

And  so  my  journey  ended.  If  it  has  had  its  disap- 
pointments, it  has  had,  too,  its  triumphs  and  successes. 
It  was  unfortunate  that  I  did  not  get  the  boat  over 
the  Sound,  together  with  a  good  supply  of  provisions; 
but,  failing  in  this,  the  failure  of  the  foot-party  was  of 
little  moment.  No  amount  of  assistance  could,  with 
sledges  alone,  have  helped  me  further  north ;  or,  if  I 
had  got  further,  could  have  ever  got  me  back  again. 

June  8th. 

I  have  finished  the  plotting  of  my  chart,  and  I  find, 
as  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  observe,  that  the 
coast-line  from  Cape  Sabine  to  Cape  Frazer  differs 
somewhat  from  that  shown  from  my  journey  in  1854, 
which  was  made  under  the  embarrassments  of  partial 
snow-blindness  and  a  vapory  atmosphere.  The  most 
important  feature  in  connection  with  this  old  survey 
is  the  fact  that  the  Sound  opening  westward  from 
Smith  -Sound,  above  Cape  Sabine,  formerly  escaped 
my  observation.  The  existence  of  this  Sound  was 
abundantly  confirmed  during  my  return  journey ; 
and  my  materials,  now  reduced  and  put  on  paper, 
give  me  the  correct  conformation  of  the  coast.  The 
Sound  is  somewhat  wider  than  Smith  Sound,  narrow- 
ing, however,  steadily,  from  a  broad  entrance,  some- 
thing like  Whale  Sound.  Whether  it  continues  to 
the  westward,  parallel  with  Jones  and  Lancaster 
Sounds,  separating  the  Ellesmere  Land,  of  Ingle- 


NOMENCLATURE.  373 

field,  from  the  Grinnell  Land  of  my  former  explora-, 
tion,  of  course,  remains  to  be  proven ;  but,  that  such 
is  the  fact,  I  have  no  doubt. 

I  give  to  this  Sound  the  name  of  my  vessel.  The 
first  conspicuous  Cape  which  appears  on  its  south  side 
I  name  Cape  Seward,  and  the  most  remote  point  of 
visible  land  lying  beyond  it,  Cape  Viele.  The  three 
last  conspicuous  Capes  on  the  north  side  I  name  as 
follows :  the  most  westerly,  Cape  Baker  ;  that  next  to 
it,  Cape  Sawyer;  and  the  third,  Cape  Stetson.  The 
apparently  deep  indentations  of  the  coast  which  lie 
between  these  bold  headlands  are  designated  as  Joy 
Bay  and  Peabody  Bay.  The  two  large  islands  lying 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Sound  I  have  distinguished  as 
Bache  Island  and  Henry  Island.  Eastward  of  Cape 
Stetson  I  have  applied  such  names  as  seemed  to  me 
appropriate  tQ  distinguish  the  prominent  landmarks ; 
but  it  is  unnecessary  to  mention  them  here,  as  the 
map  tells  its  own  story.  In  those  parts  of  the  coast 
which  were  plotted  by  Dr.  Kane  from  my  old  survey, 
I  have  endeavored  to  adhere,  as  far  as  practicable,  to 
his  nomenclature ;  and  such  parts  of  the  shores  of 
Kennedy  Channel  as  were  seen  by  Morton  alone,  I 
have,  for  the  most  part,  simply  applied  Dr.  Kane's 
names,  without  inquiring  very  particularly  as  to  their 
corresponding  places  on  the  two  maps.  I  think  this 
course,  in  the  main,  preferable  to  that  somewhat  con- 
fusing system  which  deprived  Captain  Inglefield  of 
the  benefits  of  his  survey  of  Smith  Sound  ;  and  I 
have,  besides,  the  additional  satisfaction  of  joining  Dr. 
Kane  in  paying  respect  to  many  distinguished  men 
of  science,  dead  and  living,  and  among  them  to  none 
that  contribute  more  gratification  than  that  of  M.  de 
la  Roquette,  Vice-President  of  the  Geographical  Soci- 


374  NOMENCLATURE. 

ety  of  Paris ;  and  to  Sir  Roderick  Murchison,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  London,  and 
Dr.  Norton  Shaw,  its  Secretary.  The  coast-range, 
which  forms  such  a  conspicuous  feature  of  Grinnell 
Land,  I  have  followed  Dr.  Kane  in  designating  as  Vic- 
toria and  Albert  Mountains. 

The  highest  point  attained  by  me  I  have  called 
Cape  Lieber ;  a  remarkable  peak  rising  above  it, 
Church's  Monument ;  and  the  Bay,  which  lies  below 
it,  is  named  in  respectful  remembrance  of  Lady  Frank- 
lin. The  conspicuous  headland  which  I  vainly  at- 
tempted to  reach,  on  the  last  day  of  my  northward 
journey,  I  have  named  Cape  Euge'nie,  thinking,  in 
this  manner,  to  express  my  high  appreciation  of  the 
many  acts  of  kindness  to  this  expedition  and  to 
myself  which  I  owe  to  French  citizens,  by  remember- 
ing their  Empress.  Another  prominent  headland  ap- 
pearing beyond  it  I  designate  as  Cape  Frederick  VII., 
in  honor  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  to  whose  subjects 
in  Greenland  I  am  indebted  for  so  many  serviceable 
attentions.  And  to  the  noble  headland  which,  in  faint 
outline,  stood  against  the  dark  sky  of  the  open  sea 
—  the  most  northern  known  land  upon  the  globe — 
I  name  Cape  Union,  in  remembrance  of  a  compact 
which  has  given  prosperity  to  a  people  and  founded 
a  nation.  In  naming  the  bay  which  lies  between 
Cape  Union  and  Cape  Frederick  VII.,  I  am  desirous 
of  expressing  my  admiration  of  Admiral  Wrangel, 
whose  fame  in  connection  with  Arctic  discovery  is 
equaled  by  that  of  Sir  Edward  Parry  only.  And  the 
lofty  peak  which  overlooks  the  Polar  Sea  from  behind 
Cape  Eugenie,  I  name  Parry  Mountain.  With  this 
eminent  explorer  I  will  now  divide  the  honors  of  ex- 
treme northern  travel ;  for,  if  he  has  carried  the 


WASHINGTON  LAND. 


375 


British  flag  upon  the  sea  nearer  to  the  North  Pole 
than  any  flag  had  been  carried  hitherto,  I  have 
planted  the  American  flag  further  north  upon  the 
land  then  any  flag  has  been  planted  before.  The 
Bay  between  Capes  Frederick  VII.  and  Eugenie  I 
name  in  honor  of  the  distinguished  geographer,  Dr. 
Augustus  Peterman  ;  and  two  large  bays  lower  down 
the  coast  I  call,  respectively,  after  Carl  Ritter  and 
William  Scorsby. 

In  plotting  my  survey  I  have  been  a  little  puzzled 
with  the  Washington  Land  of  Dr.  Kane's  map,  and  I 
am  much  tempted  to  switch  it  off  twenty  miles  to  the 
eastward ;  for  it  is  not  possible  that  Kennedy  Chan- 
nel can  be  less  than  fifty  miles  wide ;  and,  since  I 
believe  that  Smith  Sound  expands  into  the  Polar 
Basin,  I  must  look  upon  Washington  Land  merely 
as  an  island  in  its  centre,  —  Kennedy  Channel  lying 
between  it  and  Grinnell  Land  on  the  west,  and  Hum- 
boldt  Glacier  filling  up  what  was  once  a  channel  on 
the  right. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

INSPECTION  OF  THE  SCHOONER.  —  METHOD  OF  REPAIRING .— THE  SERIO~3 
NATURE  OF  THE  INJURY.  — THE  SCHOONER  UNFIT  FOR  ANY  FURTHER  ICE- 
ENCOUNTERS.  —  EXAMINATION  OF  MY  RESOURCES.  — PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 

< 

THE  extracts  from  my  journal  quoted  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  will  have  sufficed  to  give  the -reader 
an  understanding  of  the  results  of  my  spring  and 
summer  sledging,  and  he  will  have  perceived  that  they 
were  regarded  by  me  as  having  laid  down  a  correct 
basis  for  future  exploration.  With  the  character  of 
the  Smith  Sound  ice  I  had  become  more  familiar,  and 
the  accurate  determination  of  the  coast-lines  enabled 
me  more  readily  to  calculate  upon  the  influence  of 
the  summer  drift ;  while  the  rotten  state  of  the  ice  in 
Kennedy  Channel,  even  at  so  early  a  period  of  the 
season  as  May,  and  the  existence  of  open  water  be- 
yond it,  left  no  doubt  upon  my  mind  as  to  the  practi- 
cability of  getting  a  vessel  through  under  ordinarily 
favorable  conditions  of  the  season. 

It  will  be  perceived,  therefore,  that  my  future 
course  was  dependent  upon  the  condition  of  the 
schooner. 

Although  I  have  not  made  more  than  a  passing  al- 
lusion to  the  report  of  Mr.  McCormick  as  to  the  dam- 
age sustained  by  the  vessel,  yet  the  reader  will  have 
gathered  from  my  journal  that  it  caused  me  much 
anxiety.  I  was  too  much  prostrated  after  my  return 


INSPECTION  OF  THE  SCHOONER.  377 

from  the  journey  to  make,  during  the  first  few  days, 
that  thorough  inspection  which  was  needed  to  form  a 
correct  judgment.  I  was  consoled,  however,  in  some 
measure  for  the  delay,  by  realizing  the  necessity  of 
writing  up  the  occurrences  of  my  return  journey, 
while  they  were  fresh  in  my  mind,  and  of  defining  on 
my  chart  the  observations  and  geographical  discov- 
eries which  I  had  made. 

These  duties  performed,  and  my  strength  sufficiently 
restored  to  justify  me  in  leaving  my  cabin,  I  made  a 
careful  examination  of  the  schooner  and  the  means 
which  had  been  adopted  for  repairing  her.  These 
means  were  altogether  unexceptionable,  and  reflected 
much  credit  upon  Mr.  McCormick  and  also  upon  the 
mate,  Mr.  Dodge,  who  had  given  him  zealous  assist- 
ance. 

McCormick  had  begun  by  digging  the  ice  away 
from  the  bows  down  to  the  very  keel,  thus  exposing 
all  the  forward  part  of  the  vessel  as  completely  as  if 
she  lay  in  a  dry-dock.  The  damage  proved  to  have 
been  even  greater  than  we  had  anticipated,  and  it 
seemed  remarkable  that  the  forward  planks  and  tim- 
bers had  not  opened  to  such  a  degree  as  to  let  the 
water  through  in  torrents  and  sink  us  at  once.  The 
heads  of  the  planks  which  were  let  into  the  stem 
were  all  started  ;  the  outer  planking  was  loose  and 
gaping  open ;  the  iron  sheathing  of  the  cut-water  and 
bows  was  torn  and  curled  up  as  if  it  had  been  pine- 
shavings  ;  the  stem-post  was  started,  and  the  cut- 
water itself  was  completely -torn  away. 

By  dint  of  much  earnest  exertion  and  the  use  of 
bolts  and  spikes,  —  by  replacing  the  torn  cut-water, 
careful  calking,  and  renewal  of  the  iron  plates, —  it 
Beemed  probable  that  the  schooner  would  be  sea- 


378  REPAIRING  THE   SCHOONER. 

worthy ;  but  I  was  forced  to  agree  with  my  sailing- 
master,  that  to  strike  the  ice  again  was  sure  to  sink 
her. 

The  stern  of  the  schooner  had  been  dry-docked  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  bows ;  and  it  was  found  that 
the  severe  wrench  which  she  had  got  off  Littleton 
Island  had  started  the  stern-post,  upon  which  hangs 
the  rudder ;  and  the  rudder  itself  had  been  twisted 
off,  —  the  pintles  having  been  snapped  asunder  as  if 
they  had  been  made  of  pipe-clay.  This  accident  to 
the  rudder  had  been  quite  unavoidable,  for  we  were 
so  situated  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence  that  we  could 
not  avail  ourselves  of  the  facilities  with  which  we 
were  provided  for  unshipping  it. 

McCormick  had  succeeded  in  getting  in  some  stout 
screw-bolts,  and  had  managed,  by  an  ingenious  device, 
in  hanging  the  rudder  in  such  a  manner  that  we 
could  rely  upon  it  to  steer  the  schooner ;  but  it  would 
not  bear  contact  with  the  ice,  or  another  wrench,  and 
it  could  not  be  unshipped.  The  schooner's  sides  were 
much  torn  and  abraided,  but  no  material  damage 
seemed  to  have  been  done  which  was  not  repaired 
with  some  additional  spikes  to  secure  the  started 
planks,  and  a  general  calking  to  close  the  seams. 

I  felt  much  disappointment  at  the  turn  of  affairs. 
It  seemed  very  probable  that,  in  view  of  the  crippled 
condition  of  the  schooner,  the  project  of  getting  into 
Kennedy  Channel  and  of  navigating  the  Polar  Sea 
with  her  would  have  to  be  abandoned  for  the  present, 
and  that  I  had  now  no  chance  for  another  year  but 
with  boat  and  sledge.  In  this  direction  there  was 
nothing  to  give  encouragement.  To  transport  a 
boat  across  such  ice  as  that  of  Smith  Sound  was 
wholly  impracticable,  and  I  was  now  more  poorly  off 


MY  RESOURCES.  379 

for  dogs  than  before.  Only  six  animals  survived  the 
late  journey.  Of  these  one  died  after  a  few  days, 
apparently  from  sheer  loss  of  vitality ;  and  one  was 
returned  to  Kalutunah. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  became  a  matter  for 
serious  reflection,  whether  it  were  not  wiser  to  return 
home,  refit,  add  —  what  was  of  much  consequence  — 
steam-power  to  my  resources,  and  come  back  again 
immediately.  Once  at  Cape  Isabella  with  a  proper 
vessel,  I  was  fully  persuaded  that  I  could  get  into  the 
northern  water,  and  find  a  free  route  to  the  Pole, 
although  it  might  be  a  hard  struggle  and  somewhat 
hazardous.  The  chances  of  success  would  be  greatly 
enhanced  by  steam. 

On  the  other  hand,  by  remaining,  I  could  not 
clearly  see  my  way  to  accomplish  any  thing  more 
of  northern  discovery  than  had  been  accomplished 
already ;  and  I  was  now  called  upon  to  consider 
whether  my  time  and  means  could  be  employed  to 
better  advantage  by  promptly  returning  to  refit  than 
to  postpone  that  inevitable  result  to  another  year. 
The  responsibilities  of  the  expedition  had  been  wholly 
assumed  by  myself;  and,  from  the  time"  of  leaving 
Boston  until  I  should  have  completed  the  explora- 
tion which  I  fyad  undertaken,  I  proposed  to  make 
the  costs  which,  hitherto,  various  associations  and  in- 
dividuals had  shared  with  me,  now  exclusively  my 
own.  I  was,  therefore,  compelled  to  husband  my 
resources  and  to  act  with  caution  and  deliberation. 

I  will  not  now  detain  the  reader  with  the  full  de- 
tails of  my  plans  for  the  future,  arranged  to  meet  this 
new  exigency ;  suffice  it  here  to  observe  that,  after 
taking  Jensen  and  Kalutunah  into  my  counsels,  I 
was  fully  convinced  that,  by  bringing  out  two  ships, 


380          PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 

—  mooring  one  of  them  in  Port  Foulke,  and  pushing 
north  with  the  other,  —  a  practicable  scheme  of  ex- 
ploration could  be  inaugurated,  and  that  its  success 
as  well  as  safety  would  be  secured.  To  this  end,  I 
proposed  to  myself  to  establish  a  permanent  hunt- 
ing station  or  colony  at  Port  Foulke;  to  collect 
about  that  place  all  of  the  Esquimaux;1  organize  a 
vigorous  hunt ;  and  make  that  hunt  yield  whatever 
was  essential  for  sustaining  indefinitely  an  extended 
system  of  exploration  toward  the  North  Pole.  In 
the  practicability  of  establishing  such  a  station, 
Jensen,  whose  experience  in  the  Greenland  colonies 
was  extensive,  fully  agreed  with  me,  and  he  was 
much  delighted  with  the  plan,  accepting  without 
hesitation  my  proposal  to  make  him  superintendent 
of  it ;  Kalutunah  was  overjoyed  with  the  prospect  of 
bringing  all  of  his  people  together ;  and,  in  this  as- 
pect alone,  the  scheme  possessed  much  that  was  to 
me  personally  gratifying.  My  intercourse  with  this 
fast-dwindling  race  had  caused  me  to  feel  a  deep  in- 
terest in  them  and  to  sympathize  with  their  unhappy 
condition.  The  hardships  of  their  life  were  telling 
upon  them  sadly,  and,  if  not  rescued  by  the  hand  of 
Christian  philanthropy  and  benevolence,  in  less  than 
half  a  century  these  poor  wanderers  of  the  icy  sea 
will  have  all  passed  away. 

My  plans  for  the  future  did  not,  however,  assume 
definite  shape  at  the  period  of  which  I  write,  nor 
could  they  until  the  schooner  should  be  set  free. 

1  The  Esquimaux  may,  to  a  limited  extent,  be  even  made  available  in 
exploration,  as  has  been  shown  by  the  experience  of  Mr.  C.  F  Hall,  who 
is  now,  with  no  other  reliance  than  the  natives,  energetically  pushing  his 
discoveries  westward  from  Repulse  Bay. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE  ARCTIC   SPRING  —SNOW  DISAPPEARING. —PLANTS  SHOW  SIGNS  OF   LIFB 

—  RETURN    OF    THE     BIRDS.  —  CHANGE     IN    THE     SEA.  —  REFITTING     TUB 
SCHOONER.  —  THE    ESQUIMAUX.  —  VISIT    TO    KALUTUNAH.  —  KALUTUNAH'S 
ACCOUNT     OF     THE     ESQUIMAU     TRADITIONS.  —  HUNTING-GROUNDS     CON- 
TRACTED BY  THE   ACCUMULATION  OF  ICE.  —  HARDSHIPS  OF   THEIR  LIFE.— 
THEIR    SUBSISTENCE.  —  THE    RACE    DWINDLING    AWAY.  —  VISIT    TO    THE 
GLACIER.  —  RE-SURVEY   OF   THE  GLACIER.  —  KALUTUNAH  CATCHING  BIRDS. 

—  A   SNOW-STORM  AND  A  GALE.— THE  MID-DAY    OF  THE  ARCTIC  SUMMER. 

HAVING  determined  to  be  guided  by  circumstances, 
as  set  forth  in  the  last  chapter,  I  had  now  only  to 
await  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice  and  the  liberation 
of  the  schooner,  —  an  incident  which  I  could  not  an- 
ticipate wholly  without  anxiety,  owing  to  our  expo- 
sure to  the  southwest  rendering  the  disruption  liable 
to  come  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  swell  from  the  sea 
that  would  set  us  adrift  in  a  rolling  pack. 

The  spring  had  already  fairly  set  in  when  I  re- 
turned from  the  north,  and  each  day  added  to  the  en- 
croachment of  the  water  upon  the  ice.  A  wonderful 
change  had  taken  place  since  my  departure  in  April 
The  temperature  had  risen  steadily  from  35°  below 
zero  to  as  many  degrees  above  it ;  the  wintery  cloak 
of  whiteness  which  had  so  long  clothed  the  hills  and 
valleys  was  giving  way  under  the  influence  of  the 
sun's  warm  rays ;  and  torrents  of  the  melted  snow 
were  dashing  wildly  down  the  rugged  gorges,  or 
bounding  in  cascades  from  the  lofty  cliffs  ;  and  the  air 
was  everywhere  filled  with  the  pleasing  roar  of  fall- 
ing waters.  A  little  lake  had  formed  in  a  basin  be- 


382  THE   ARCTIC   SPRING. 

hind  the  Observatory,  and  a  playful  rivulet  gurgled 
from  it  over  the  pebbles  down  into  the  harbor,  wear- 
ing away  the  ice  along  the  beach,  and  the  banks  of  the 
lake  and  stream  were  softened  by  the  thaw,  and,  re- 
lieved of  their  winter  covering,  were,  thus  early  in 
June,  showing  signs  of  a  returning  vegetation  ;  the 
sap  had  started  in  the  willow-stems,  while  ice  and 
snow  yet  lay  around  the  roots,  and  the  mosses, 
and  poppies,  and  saxifrages,  and  the  cochlearia,  and 
other  hardy  plants,  had  begun  to  sprout ;  the  air  was 
filled  with  the  cry  of  birds,  which  had  come  back  for 
the  summer ;  the  cliffs  were  alive  with  the  little  auks ; 
flocks  of  eider  ducks  swept  over  the  harbor  in  rapid 
flight,  seemingly  not  yet  decided  which  of  the  islands 
to  select  for  their  summer  home ;  the  graceful  terns 
flitted,  and  screamed,  and  played  over  the  sea ;  the 
burgomaster-gulls  and  the  ger-falcons  sailed  about 
us  with  solemn  gravity  ;  the  shrill  "Ha-hah-ivce  "  of  the 
long-tailed  duck  was  often  heard,  as  the  birds  shot 
swiftly  across  the  harbor ;  the  snipe  were  flying  about 
the  growing  fresh-water  pools ;  the  sparrows  chirped 
from  rock  to  rock ;  long  lines  of  cackling  geese  were 
sailing  far  overhead,  winging  their  way  to  some  more 
remote  point  of  northness ;  the  deep  bellow  of  the 
walrus  came  from  the  ice-rafts,  which  the  summer  had 
set  adrift  upon  the  sea ;  the  bay  and  the  fiord  were 
dotted  over  with  seal,  who  had  dug  through  the  ice 
from  beneath,  and  lay  basking  in  the  warm  sun ;  and 
the  place  which  I  had  left  robed  in  the  cold  mantle  of 
winter  was  now  dressed  in  the  bright  garments  of 
spring.  The  change  had  come  with  marvelous  sudden- 
ness. The  snow  on  the  surface  of  the  ice  was  rapidly 
melting ;  and,  whenever  we  went  outside  of  the  ship, 
we  waded  through  slush.  The  ice  itself  was  decaying 


REFITTING  THE   SCHOONER.  383 

rapidly,  and  its  sea-margin  was  breaking  up.  The 
"  Twins  "  had  been  loosened  from  their  bonds  and  had 
floated  away ;  and  a  crowd  of  icebergs,  of  forms  that 
were  strange  to  us,  had  come  sailing  out  of  the 
Sound  in  stately  and  solemn  procession,  wending  their 
way  to  the  warmer  south  —  their  crystals  tumbling 
from  them  in  fountains  as  they  go. 

Every  thing  about  me  gave  warning  that  I  had  re- 
turned from  the  north  in  the  nick  of  time. 

McCormick  had  been  at  work  as  well  on  the  inside 
as  on  the  outside  of  the  vessel.  The  temporary  house 
had  been  removed  from  the  upper  deck,  and  the 
decks,  and  bulwarks,  and  cabins,  and  forecastle  had 
been  furbished  up ;  and,  after  all  this  spring  house- 
cleaning,  the  little  schooner  looked  as  neat  and  tidy 
as  if  she  had  never  been  besmeared  with  the  soot 
and  lamp-smoke  of  the  long  winter.  The  men  were 
setting  up  the  rigging ;  the  bow-sprit,  and  jib-boom, 
and  foretop-mast  had  been  repaired ;  the  yards  had 
been  sent  aloft ;  the  masts  were  being  scraped  down  ; 
and  a  little  paint  and  tar  fairly  made  our  craft  shine 
again.  The  sailors  had  moved  from  the  hold  to  their 
natural  quarters  in  the  forecastle;  and  Dodge  was 
busy  getting  off  and  stowing  away  the  contents  of 
the  store-house,  except  such  articles  as  I  had  pro- 
posed leaving  behind,  which  were  carefully  deposited 
in  a  fissure  of  a  rock,  and  covered  over  with  heavy 
stones. 

The  Esquimaux  still  hung  round  us.  Tcheitchen- 
guak  had  set  up  a  tent  on  the  terrace,  and  had  for  a 
companion  a  new-comer,  named  Alatak,  and  for  house- 
keeper a  woman,  who  appeared  to  have  a  roving  com- 
mission, without  special  claim  on  anybody,  and  whom 
I  had  seen  before  at  Booth  Bay,  where  she  figured 


384  A  CHIEF   WAXED  FAT. 

among  my  companions  as  "  The  Sentimental  Widow." 
Hans  had  gone,  with  his  family,  up  to  Chester  Valley, 
where  he  was  catching  auks  by  hundreds,  and  living 
in  the  seal-skin  tent  that  he  brought  from  Cape  York. 
Angeit  still  prowled  round  the  galley  and  pantry, 
and  continued,  alternately,  to  annoy  and  amuse  the 
cook  and  still  stoutly  to  resist  the  steward's  efforts  at 
conversion.  Kalutunah,  my  jolly  old  chief,  held  on 
at  Etah,  and  looked  to  my  abundant  commissariat 
and  fruitful  bounty  as  the  source  of  all  human  bliss. 
He  had  grown  so  rich  that  he  did  not  know  where  to 
put  all  his  wealth ;  and  when  I  went  over  to  Etah  to 
look  after  him,  I  found  him  waxing  fat  on  laziness, 
and  stupid  with  over-feeding.  I  discovered  him  loung- 
ing behind  a  rock,  basking  in  the  warm  sunshine,  like 
the  monk  in  the  "  Monastery,"  sitting  before  the  fire, 
"  thinking  of  nothing."  He  was  much  rejoiced  at 
seeing  me  again,  asked  me  many  questions  about  my 
journey,  and  where  I  had  been  ;  said  that  he  had 
never  been  so  happy  in  all  his  life  before  ;  and  he 
stole  the  thoughts,  if  not  the  Spanish,  of  honest  San- 
cho,  in  his  emphatic  declaration,  "  You  have  filled  my 
belly,  and  therefore  have  won  my  heart."  I  was  sorry 
to  have  but  one  dog  to  restore  to  him  of  the  eight 
with  which  he  had  supplied  me ;  but  he  declared  him- 
self satisfied.  He  appeared,  at  first,  strongly  to  fear 
that,  in  returning  his  dog,  I  was  withdrawing  my  sup- 
port, and  was  much  gratified  when  I  told  him  to  come 
over  and  get  as  much  food  as  he  could  carry  away. 

Kalutunah's  first  question  was,  whether  I  had  found 
any  Esquimaux.  Before  starting,  I  had  frequently 
spoken  to  him  concerning  the  existence  of  his  people 
to  the  north,  and  he  recited  to  me  a  well-established 
tradition  of  the  tribe,  that  the  Esquimaux  once  ex- 


TRACES   OF  ESQUIMAUX.  385 

tended  both  to  the  north  and  the  south ;  and  that, 
finally,  the  tribe  now  inhabiting  the  coast  from  Cape 
York  to  Smith  Sound  were  cut  off  by  the  accumula- 
tion of  ice  as  well  above  as  below  them ;  and  he  be- 
lieved that  Esquimaux  were  living  at  this  present 
time  in  both  directions.  That  there  was  once  no  break 
in  the  communication  between  the  natives  of  the  re- 
gion about  Upernavik,  along  the  shores  of  Melville 
Bay,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  and  Kalutunah  appeared 
to  think  that  the  same  would  hold  good  in  the  oppo- 
site direction.  The  ice  has  accumulated  in  Smith 
Sound  as  it  has  in  Melville  Bay ;  and  what  were  evi- 
dently once  prosperous  hunting-grounds,  up  to  the 
very  face  of  Humboldt  Glacier,  are  now  barren  wastes, 
where  living  thing  rarely  comes.  At  various  places 
along  the  coast  Dr.  Kane  found  the  remains  of  an- 
cient huts  ;  and  lower  down  the  coast,  toward  the 
mouth  of  the  Sound,  there  are  many  of  more  recent 
date.  Near  Cairn  Point  there  is  a  hut  which  had  been 
abandoned  but  a  year  before  Dr.  Kane's  visit,  in  1853, 
and  has  not  been  occupied  since.  In  Van  Rensse- 
laer  Harbor  there  were  several  huts  which  had  been 
inhabited  by  the  last  generation. 

The  simple  discovery  of  traces  of  Esquimaux  on  the 
coast  of  Grinnell  Land  was  not  altogether  satisfactory 
to  Kalutunah,  for  -he  had  confidently  expected  that  1 
would  find  and  bring  back  with  me  some  living  speci- 
mens of  them ;  but  he  was  still  gratified  to  have  his 
traditions  confirmed,  and  he  declared  that  I  did  not 
go  far  enough  or  I  should  have  found  plenty  of  na- 
tives ;  for,  said  he,  in  effect,  "  There  are  good  hunting- 
grounds  at  the  north,  plenty  of  musk-ox  (oomemak), 
and  wherever  there  are  good  hunting-grounds,  there 
the  Esquimaux  will  be  found." 

25 


386  THE  ESQUIMAUX. 

Kalutunah  grew  more  sad  than  I  had  ever  before 
seen  him,  when  I  spoke  to  him  of  the  fortunes  of  his 
own  people.  "  Alas  !  "  said  he,  "  we  will  soon  be  all 
gone."  I  told  him  that  I  would  come  back,  and  that 
white  men  would  live  for  many  years  near  Etah. 
"  Come  back  soon,"  said  he,  "  or  there  will  be  none 
here  to  welcome  you ! " 

To  contemplate  the  destiny  of  this  little  tribe  is 
indeed  painful.  There  is  much  in  this  rude  people 
deserving  of  admiration.  Their  brave  and  courageous 
struggles  for  a  bare  subsistence,  against  what  would 
seem  to  us  the  most  disheartening  obstacles,  often 
being  wholly  without  food  for  days  together  and 
never  obtaining  it  without  encountering  danger, 
makes  their  hold  on  life  very  precarious.  The  sea 
is  their  only  harvest-field ;  and,  having  no  boats  in 
which  to  pursue  the  game,  they  have  only  to  await 
the  turning  tide  or  changing  Season  to  open  cracks, 
along  which  they  wander,  seeking  the  seal  and  walrus 
which  come  there  to  breathe.  The  uncertain  fortunes 
of  the  hunt  often  lead  them  in  the  winter  time  to 
shelter  themselves  in  rude  hovels  of  snow  ;  and,  in 
summer,  the  migrating  water-fowl  come  to  substitute 
the  seal  and  walrus,  which,  when  the  ice-fields  have 
floated  off,  they  can  rarely  catch. 

From  the  information  which  I  obtained  through 
Hans  and  Kalutunah,  I  estimated  the  tribe  to  number 
about  one  hundred  souls,  —  a  very  considerable  dimi- 
nution since  Dr.  Kane  left  them,  in  1855.  Hans 
made  for  me  a  rude  map  of  the  coast  from  Cape  York 
to  Smith  Sound,  and  set  down  upon  it  all  of  the  vil- 
lages, if  by  such  name  the  inhabited  places  may  be 
called.  These  places  are  always  close  by  the  margin 
of  the  sea.  They  rarely  consist  of  more  than  one 


SCIENTIFIC   COLLECTIONS.  387 

hut,  and  the  largest  village  of  but  three.  Of  the 
nature  of  these  habitations  the  reader  will  have  al- 
ready gathered  sufficient  from  my  description  of  Ka- 
lutunah's  den  at  Etah. 

Awaiting  the  thawing  out  of  the  schooner,  I  could 
only  employ  my  time  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Port  Foulke  with  such  work  as  I  found  practicable. 
The  pendulum  experiments  of  the  previous  autumn 
were  repeated,  and  several  full  sets  of  observations 
were  made  for  the  determination  of  the  magnetic  force. 
The  survey  of  the  harbor  and  the  bay  was  completed ; 
the  terraces  were  leveled  and  plotted ;  and  the  angles 
on  "  My  Brother  John's  Glacier  "  were  renewed.  In 
all  of  these  labors  I  found  an  intelligent  and  pains- 
taking assistant  in  Mr.  Radcliffe.  This  gentleman  also 
labored  assiduously  writh  the  photographic  apparatus ; 
and,  through  his  patient  cooperation,  I  was  finally 
enabled  to  secure  a  large  number  of  reasonably  good 
pictures.  Some  valuable  collections  of  natural  his- 
tory were  also  made,  and  in  this  department  I  had 
much  useful  assistance  from  Mr.  Knorr  and  Mr.  Starr. 
The  ice  in  the  harbor  offered  them  a  fine  opportunity 
as  the  cracks  opened,  and  their  labors  were  rewarded 
with  one  of  the  finest  collections  of  marine  inverte- 
brata  that  has  been  made  from  Arctic  waters.1  My 

1  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  William  Stimpson  for  a  careful  examination  and 
comparison  of  this  collection,  the  results  of  which  were  published  by  him 
in  the  "  Proceedings"  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadel- 
phia, for  May,  1863.  The  collection  contains  little  that  is  wholly  new ; 
but,  as  Dr.  Stimpson  has  remarked,  "  They  possess  great  interest  from 
having  been  found,  in  great  part,  in  localities  much  nearer  the  Pole  than 
any  previous  expeditions  have  succeeded  in  reaching  on  the  American  side 
of  the  Arctic  Circle.  They  include  some  species  hitherto  found  only  on 
the  European  side  ;  and,  we  may  add,  the  number  of  species  collected  by 
Dr.  Hayes  is  greater  than  that  brought  back  by  any  single  expedition 
which  has  yet  visited  those  seas,  as  far  as  can  be  judged  by  published  ac- 


388  AN  ENLIVENING  SCENE. 

journey  to  the  glacier  occupied  me  a  week.  We 
pitched  our  tent  near  Alida  Lake,  and  went  systemat- 
ically to  work  to  measure  and  photograph  our  old  ac- 
quaintance of  the  last  autumn. 

We  arrived  at  the  lake  in  the  midst  of  a  very  en- 
livening scene.  The  snow  had  mainly  disappeared 
from  the  valley,  and,  although  no  flowers  had  yet  ap- 
peared, the  early  vegetation  was  covering  the  banks 
with  green,  and  the  feeble  growths  opened  their  little 
leaves  almost  under  the  very  snow,  and  stood  alive 
and  fresh  in  the  frozen  turf,  looking  as  glad  of  the 
spring  as  their  more  ambitious  cousins  of  the  warm 
south.  Numerous  small  herds  of  reindeer  had  come 
down  from  the  mountains  to  fatten  on  this  newly 
budding  life.  Gushing  rivulets  and  fantastic  water- 
falls mingled  their  pleasant  music  with  the  ceaseless 
hum  of  birds,  myriads  of  which  sat  upon  the  rocks  of 
the  hill-side,  or  were  perched  upon  the  cliffs,  or  sailed 
through  the  air  in  swarms  so  thick  that  they  seemed 
like  a  dark  cloud  passing  before  the  sun.  These  birds 
were  the  hitherto  mentioned  little  auk  (iiria  allce), 
and  are  a  water-fowl  not  larger  than  a  quail.  The 
swift  flutter  of  their  wings  and  their  constant  cry 
filled  the  air  with  a  roar  like  that  of  a  storm  ad- 
vancing among  the  forest  trees.  The  valley  was  glow- 
ing with  the  sunlight  of  the  early  morning,  which 
streamed  in  over  the  glacier,  and  robed  hill,  mountain, 
and  plain  in  brightness. 

Hans  had  pitched  his  tent  at  the  further  end  of  the 
lake,  and  Kalutunah  came  up  with  Myouk  and  Ala- 
counts."  The  collection  embraces,  of  Crustacea,  22  species;  Annelida,  18 
species ;  Mollusca,  21  species ;  Echinodermata,  7  species ;  Acalephce,  1  spe- 
cie ;  and,  besides  these,  a  considerable  number  of  Nudibranchiata,  Ac* 
tinice,  etc.,  which  cannot  well  be  determined  from  alcoholic  specimens. 


GLACIEE  MOVEMENT.  389 

tak,  a*nd  joined  him.  Jensen  quickly  shot  a  deer,  and 
Hans  brought  us  some  auks ;  and,  before  going  to 
work,  we  drew  around  a  large  rock,  of  which  we 
made  a  table,  and  partook  of  a  substantial  dinner  of 
Carl's  preparation,  washing  it  down  with  purest  water 
from  the  glacier,  while  listening  to  the  music  of  gur- 
gling streams  and  the  song  of  birds. 

The  face  of  the  glacier  had  undergone  much  change. 
Blocks  of  immense  size  had  broken  from  it,  and  lay 
strewn  over  the  valley  at  its  base ;  while  the  glacier 
itself  had  pressed  down  the  slope,  crowding  rocks,  and 
snow,  and  the  debris  of  ice  before  it  in  a  confused, 
wave-like  heap.  The  progress  toward  the  sea  had 
been  steady  and  irresistible. 

The  journey  to  the  top  of  the  glacier  was  much 
more  difficult  than  in  the  previous  autumn,  the  snow 
having  in  a  great  measure  melted  away,  exposing  the 
rocks,  and  embarrassing  us  in  the  ascent  of  the  gla- 
cier's side,  as  well  as  of  the  gorge.  Every  thing  was 
wet  and  mucky,  overhead  as  well  as  under  foot.  The 
glacier-surface  was  shedding  water  from  every  side, 
like  the  roof  of  a  house  in  a  February  thaw ; .  and  the 
little  streams  which  flowed  down  its  side,  joining  the 
waters  of  the  melting  snow,  trickled  underneath  the 
glacier  and  reappeared  in  rushing  torrents  in  the  val- 
ley below  from  the  glacier  front ;  and  thence  poured 
into  the  lake,  and  from  the  lake  to  the  sea. 

I  was  fortunate  in  finding  my  stakes  all  standing ; 
and,  having  brought  up  the  theodolite,  I  repeated  the 
angles  which,  with  Sonntag,  I  had  taken  the  previous 
October.  These  angles,  when  afterwards  reduced,  ex- 
hibited a  descent  of  the  centre  of  the  glacier,  down 
the  valley,  of  ninety-six  feet. 

Chester  Valley  has  in  former  times  been  quite  a  re- 


390  THE  MUSK-OX. 

sort  of  the  Esquimaux.  We  found  there  several  old 
ruins  of  huts,  some  of  them  with  bones  strewn  about 
them,  which  showed  that  they  were  not  of  very  an- 
cient date.  Among  these  bones,  which  were  mostly 
of  the  walrus,  seal,  and  bears,  I  found  a  part  of  the 
head  of  a  musk-ox,  and  in  such  a  position  as  ap- 
peared to  render  it  probable  that  the  animal  of 
which  it  had  formed  a  part  had  been  the  food  of  the 
former  inhabitants  of  the  ruin.  Upon  referring  the 
matter  to  Kalutunah,  he  told  me  that  the  musk-ox 
was  supposed  to  have  been  once  numerous  along  the 
entire  coast,  and  that  they  are  still  occasionally  seen. 
No  longer  ago  than  the  previous  winter,  a  hunter  of 
Wolstenholme  Sound,  near  a  place  called  Oomeak,  had 
come  upon  two  animals  and  killed  one  of  them.  It 
would  seem  from  this  circumstance  that  the  musk-ox 
is  not  yet  extinct  in  Greenland,  as  naturalists  have 
supposed. 

One  day  of  my  stay  in  the  valley  was  occupied 
with  running  a  set  of  levels  down  from  the  foot  of 
the  glacier  to  the  sea,  by  which  I  found  the  former 
to  be  ninety-two  feet  above  the  latter ;  and  another 
day  was  passed  in  hunting. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of 
the  immense  numbers  of  the  little  auks  which  swarmed 
around  us.  The  slope  on  both  sides  of  the  valley 
rises  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees  to  a  dis- 
tance of  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet, 
where  it  meets  the  cliffs,  which  stand  about  seven 
hundred  feet  higher.  These  hill-sides  are  composed 
of  the  loose  rocks  which  have  been  split  off  from  the 
cliffs  by  the  frost.  The  birds  crawl  among  these 
rocks,  winding  far  in  through  narrow  places,  and 
there  deposit  each  a  single  egg  and  hatch  their  young, 


AUK-CATCHING.  391 

Becure   from    their   enemy,   the   foxes,   which   prowl 
round  in  great  numbers,  ever  watching  for  a  meal. 

Having  told  Kalutunah  that  I  wanted  to  accom- 
pany him  and  help  him  at  auk-catching,  that  worthy 
individual  came  to  my  tent  early  one  morning,  much 
rejoiced  that  the  Nalegaksoak  had  so  favored  him,  and, 
bright  and  early,  hurried  me  to  the  hill-side.  The 
birds  were  more  noisy  than  usual,  for  they  had  just 
returned  in  immense  swarms  from  the  sea,  where  they 
had  been  getting  their  breakfast.1  Kalutunah  carried 
a  small  net,  made  of  light  strings  of  seal-skin  knitted 
together  very  ingeniously.  The  staff  by  which  it 
was  held  was  about  ten  feet  long.  After  clambering 
over  the  rough,  sharp  stones,  we  arrived  at  length 
about  half-way  up  to  the  base  of  the  cliffs,  where 
Kalutunah  crouched  behind  a  rock  and  invited  me  to 
follow  his  example.  I  observed  that  the  birds  were 
nearly  all  in  flight,  and  were,  with  rare  exceptions, 
the  males.  The  length  of  the  slope  on  which  they 
were  congregated  was  about  a  mile,  and  a  constant 
stream  of  birds  was  rushing  over  it,  but  a  few  feet 
above  the  stones;  and,  after  making  in  their  rapid 
flight  the  whole  length  of  the  hill,  they  returned 
higher  in  the  air,  performing  over  and  over  again  the 
complete  circuit.  Occasionally  a  few  hundreds  or 
thousands  of  them  would  drop  down,  as  if  following 
some  leader ;  and  in  an  instant  the  rocks,  for  a  space 
of  several  rods,  would  swarm  all  over  with  them, — 
their  black  backs  and  pure  white  breasts  speckling 
the  hill  very  prettily. 

1  The  food  of  the  little  auk,  as  indeed  the  food  of  all  of  the  Arctic 
water-fowl,  consists  of  different  varieties  of  marine  invertebrata,  chiefly 
Crustacea,  with  which  the  Arctic  waters  abound.  It  is  owing  to  the  riches 
of  the  North  water  in  these  low  forms  of  marine  life  that  the  birds  flock 
there  in  such  great  number  during  the  breeding  season,  which  begins  in 
June  and  ends  in  August.  * 


392  AUK-CATCHING. 

While  I  was  watching  these  movements  with  much 
interest,  my  companion  was  intent  only  upon  business, 
and  warned  me  to  lie  lower,  as  the  birds  saw  me  and 
were  flying  too  high  overhead.  Having  at  length 
got  myself  stowed  away  to  the  satisfaction  of  my 
savage  companion,  the  sport  began.  The  birds  were 
beginning  again  to  whirl  their  flight  closer  to  our 
heads,  —  so  close,  indeed,  did  they  come  that  it 
seemed  almost  as  if  I  could  catch  them  with  my  cap. 
Presently,  I  observed  my  companion  preparing  him- 
self as  a  flock  of  unusual  thickness  was  approaching ; 
and,  in  a  moment,  up  went  the  net ;  a  half  dozen 
birds  flew  bang  into  it,  and,  stunned  with  the  blow, 
they  could  not  flutter  out  before  Kalutunah  had 
slipped  the  staff  quickly  through  his  hands  and 
seized  the  net ;  with  his  left  hand  he  now  pressed 
down  the  birds,  while  with  the  right  he  drew  them 
out,  one  by  one ;  and,  for  want  of  a  third  hand,  he 
used  his  teeth  to  crush  their  heads.  The  wings  were 
then  locked  across  each  other,  to  keep  them  from  flut- 
tering away ;  and,  with  an  air  of  triumph,  the  old  fel- 
low looked  around  at  me,  spat  the  blood  and  feathers 
from  his  mouth,  and  went  on  with  the  sport,  tossing 
up  his  net  and  hauling  it  in  with  much  rapidity,  until 
he  had  caught  about  a  hundred  birds ;  when,  my  curi- 
osity being  amply  satisfied,  we  returned  to  camp  and 
made  a  hearty  meal  out  of  the  game  which  we  had 
bagged  in  this  novel  and  unsportsman-like  manner. 
While  an  immense  stew  was  preparing,  Kalutunah 
amused  himself  with  tearing  off  the  birds'  skins,  and 
consuming  the  raw  flesh  while  it  was  yet  warm. 

Our  stay  at  the  glacier  was  brought  suddenly  to  an 
end  by  a  violent  storm  of  wind  and  snow,  and  both 
ourselves  and  our  Esquimau  companions  were  forced 


HURRICANE.  393 

to  seek  other  shelter.  The  storm  came  from  the  north- 
east, and  the  first  mischief  done  was  to  pick  Hans's  tent 
up  and  carry  it  off  down  the  valley  like  a  balloon,  and 
finally  to  drop  it  in  the  lake.  Without  waiting  long  to 
lament  over  the  unhappy  circumstance,  the  whole  Es- 
quimau party  set  out  for  Etah.  As  they  passed  our 
tent.  Kalutunah  stopped  a  moment  at  the  door,  and 
despite  the  fierce  wind  and  the  snow  which  covered 
him  all  over,  he  still  bore  the  same  imperturbable 
grin.  "  You  should  have  seen  Hans's  tent ! "  said  he  ; 
and  the  old  fellow  fairly  shook  with  laughter,  as  he 
recalled  the  ridiculous  scene  of  the  suddenly  unhoused 
party  and  their  vanishing  tent  tearing  away  toward 
the  lake.  But  his  satisfaction  reached  its  climax 
when  he  informed  us  that  it  was  going  to  blow  harder, 
and  that  our  turn  would  come  directly.  Sure  enough 
it  was  as  the  savage  had  predicted ;  for,  soon  after- 
ward, we  heard  a  great  noise,  —  the  photographic 
tent  had  given  way,  the  instruments  and  plates  were 
scattering  over  the  stones,  the  glasses  were  being  all 
crushed  up  into  little  bits  ;  and,  while  we  were  spring- 
ing up  to  go  out  and  save  the  wreck,  our  windward 
guys  gave  \vay,  and  our  canvas  protection  following 
the  example  of  Hans's  seal-skins,  left  us  standing  in 
the  very  jaws  of  the  storm.  As  may  be  supposed,  we 
did  not  delay  long  in  finding  our  way  back  on  board. 
I  found  the  schooner  in  a  somewhat  critical  situa- 
tion. The  spars  had  been  sent  aloft  and  caught  the 
wind,  and  the  vessel  being  still  firmly  locked  in  the 
ice,  the  masts  were  subjected  to  a  dangerous  strain. 
I  thought,  at  one  time,  that  they  would  be  carried 
bodily  out  of  the  schooner,  and  had  guys  fastened  to 
the  mastrheads  and  secured  to  stakes  driven  in  the 
ice  to  windward.  The  loose  ice  was  all  blown  out  of 


394  MID-SUMMER. 

the  bay,  the  icebergs  were  driven  out  of  sight,  and 
the  open  water  was  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  distant  from  us. 

The  sun  reaching  its  greatest  northern  declination 
on  the  21st,  we  were  now  in  the  full  blaze  of  summer. 
Six  eventful  months  had  passed  over  since  the  Arctic 
midnight  shrouded  us  in  gloom,  and  now  we  had 
reached  the  Arctic  mid-day.  And  this  mid-day  was  a 
day  of  wonderful  brightness.  The  temperature  had 
gone  up  higher  than  at  any  previous  time,  marking, 
at  meridian,  49°,  while  in  the  sun  the  thermometer 
showed  57°.  The  barometer  was  away  up  to  30.076, 
and  a  more  calm  and  lovely  air  never  softened  an 
Arctic  landscape. 

Tempted  by  the  day,  I  strolled  down  into  the  valley 
south  of  the  harbor.  The  recent  snow  had  mostly  dis- 
appeared, and  valley  and  hill-side  were  speckled  with  a 
rich  carpet  of  green,  with  only  here  and  there  a  patch 
of  the  winter  snow  yet  undissolved, —  an  emerald 
carpet,  fringed  and  inlaid  with  silver  and  sprinkled 
over  with  fragments  of  a  bouquet,  —  for  many  flow- 
ers were  now  in  full  bloom,  and  their  tiny  faces 
peeped  above  the  sod.  A  herd  of  reindeer  were 
browsing  on  the  plain  beneath  me,  and  some  white 
rabbits  had  come  from  their  hiding-places  to  feed 
upon  the  bursting  willow-buds.  New  objects  of  inter- 
est led  me  on  from  spot  to  spot  —  babbling  brooks, 
and  rocky  hill-sides,  and  little  glaciers,  and  softening 
snow-banks,  alternating  with  patches  of  tender  green 
—  until,  at  length,  I  came  to  the  base  of  a  lofty  hill, 
whose  summit  was  surmounted  with  an  imposing 
wall  which  overlooked  the  sea,  seemingly  a  vast  tur- 
reted  castle,  guarding  the  entrance  to  the  valley.  I 
thought  of  my  late  comrade,  and  named  it  Sonntag's 


LITTLE  JULIA'S   GLEN    AND  FALL.  305 

Monument.  Passing  this,  I  climbed  to  a  broad  pla- 
teau, probably  five  hundred  yards  above  the  sea ;  and 
keeping  along  this  toward  Cape  Alexander,  came  at 
length  upon  a  deep  gorge  at  the  bottom  of  which 
flowed  a  stream,  some  ten  yards  over,  which  came 
from  the  melting  snows  of  the  mountains  and  the 
mer  de  glace.  Descending  into  this  ravine  I  followed 
its  rough  banks  until  they  came  abruptly  to  the  tall 
cliff  of  the  coast,  over  which  the  water  leaped  wildly 
down  into  a  deep  and  picturesque  glen,  which  it  filled 
with  a  cloud  of  its  own  spray.  The  spot  figures  in 
my  diary  as  Little  Julia's  Glen  and  Fall 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE  ARCTIC  SUMMER.  — THE  FLORA.  —  THE  ICE  DISSOLVING.  —  A  SUMMER  STORM 
OF  RAIN,  HAIL,  AND  SNOW.  — THE  TERRACES.  — ICE  ACTION.  —  UPHEAVAL  OF 
THE  COAST.  —  GEOLOGICAL  INTEREST  OF  ICEBERGS  AND  THE  LAND-ICE.  — 
A  WALRUS  HUNT.— THE  "  FOURTH."  — VISIT  TO  LITTLETON  ISLAND.  — GREAT 
NUMBERS  OF  EIDER-DUCKS  AND  GULLS.  — THE  ICE  BREAKING  UP.  — CRITI- 
CAL SITUATION  OF  THE  SCHOONER.  — TAKING  LEAVE  OF  THE  ESQUIMAUX. 
—  ADIEU  TO  PORT  FOULKE. 

THE  reader  will  have  observed  the  marvelous 
change  that  had  come  over  the  face  of  Nature  since 
the  shadow  of  the  night  had  passed  away.  Recalling 
those  chapters  which  recount  the  gloom  and  silence  of 
the  Arctic  night,  —  the  death-like  quiet  which  reigned 
in  the  endless  darkness,  —  the  absence  of  every  living 
thing  that  could  relieve  the  solitude  of  its  terrors,  — 
he  will  perhaps  hardly  have  been  prepared  to  see, 
without  surprise,  the  same  landscape  covered  with  an 
endless  blaze  of  light,  the  air  and  sea  and  earth  teem- 
ing with  life,  the  desert  places  sparkling  with  green, 
and  brightening  with  flowers,  —  the  mind  finding 
everywhere  some  new  object  of  pleasure,  where  be- 
fore there  was  but  gloom.  The  change  of  the  Arctic 
winter  to  the  Arctic  summer  is  indeed  the  change 
from  death  to  life ;  and  the  voice  which  speaks  to  the 
sun  and  the  winds,  and  brings  back  the  joyous  day,  is 
that  same  voice  which  said 

"  She  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth,"  — 

and  the  pulseless  heart  was  made  to  throb  again,  and 
the  bloom  returned  to  the  pallid  cheek. 


THE  ARCTIC   SUMMER.  397 

There  is  truly  a  rare  charm  in  the  Arctic  summer, 
especially  if  watched  unfolding  from  the  darkness, 
and  followed  through  the  growing  warmth,  until  the 
snows  are  loosened  from  the  hills  and  the  fountains 
burst  forth,  and  the  feeble  flower-growths  spring  into 
being,  and  the  birds  come  back  with  their  merry 
music ;  and  then  again  as  it  passes  away,  under 
the  dark  shadow  of  a  sunless  sky,  —  the  fountains 
sealing  up,  the  hill-sides  and  valleys  taking  on  again 
the  white  robes  of  winter  and  the  stillness  of  the  tomb, 
the  birds  in  rapid  flight  with  the  retreating  day,  and 
the  mantle  of  darkness  settling  upon  the  mountains, 
and  overspreading  the  plain. 

To  describe  the  summer  as  I  have  before  described 
the  winter,  and  to  attempt  fully  to  picture  in  detail 
those  features  which  give  it  such  a  striking  contrast  to 
the  winter  as  is  not  seen  in  any  other  quarter  of  the 
wrorld,  would  too  far  prolong  this  narrative ;  and  I 
will  therefore  content  myself  with  selecting  from  my 
diary  such  extracts  as  will  show  the  progress  of  the 
season,  and  those  occupations  of  myself  and  associates 
that  bore  upon  the  purposes  which  we  had  mainly  in 

view. 

June  22d. 

It  is  just  six  months  since  I  wrote,  "  The  sun 
has  reached  to-day  its  greatest  southern  declination, 
and  we  have  passed  the  Arctic  midnight ; "  and  now 
the  sun  has  reached  its  greatest  northern  declina- 
tion, and  we  have  passed  the  Arctic  noonday.  Con- 
stant light  has  succeeded  constant  darkness,  a  bright 
and  cheerful  world  has  banished  a  painful  solitude  ;  — 

"  The  winter  is  past  and  gone  ;  the  flowers  appear  on  the  earth  ; 
the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come  ;  " 

and  the  long  night  which  the  glad  day  has  succeeded 
is  remembered  as  a  strange  dream. 


398  ARCTIC  FLORA. 

June  23d. 

A  bright  day,  with  the  thermometer  at  47°,  and 
light  wind  from  the  south.  I  have  been  out  with  my 
young  assistants  collecting  plants  and  lichens.  The 
rocks  are  almost  everywhere  covered  with  the  latter, — 
one  variety,  orange  in  color,  grows  in  immense  patches, 
and  gives  a  cheerful  hue  to  the  rocks,  while  another, 
the  tripe  de  roche,  which  is  still  more  abundant,  gives  a 
mournful  look  to  the  stony  slopes  which  it  covers.  I 
have  brought  in  a  fine  assortment  of  flowers,  and  it 
seems  as  if  the  plants  are  now  mostly  in  bloom.  They 
have  blossomed  several  days  earlier  than  at  Van  Rens- 
selaer  Harbor  in  1854.  I  have  had  a  bouquet  of  them 
in  my  cabin  for  many  days  past,  and  from  the  banks 
of  the  little  lake  behind  the  Observatory  I  can  always 
replenish  it  at  will.1 

1  Not  wishing  to  interrupt  the  text  with  details  which  would  hare  little 
interest  for  the  general  reader,  I  give  here  the  complete  flora  (so  far  as  a 
most  persistent  effort  could  make  it  so)  of  the  region  northward  from 
Whale  Sound.  Most  of  the  plants  were  found  at  Port  Foulke.  My  col- 
lections numbered  several  thousand  specimens,  which  my  kind  friend,  Mr. 
Elias  Durand,  of  Philadelphia,  was  good  enough  to  assist  me  in  arranging, 
and  afterward  to  classify  in  a  paper  for  the  "  Proceedings"  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  I  give  the  following 
list:  — 

1.  Ranunculus  nil-alls.  16.  Lychnis  apetala. 

2.  Papaver  nudicaule.  17.  Lychnis  panciflora. 

3.  Hesperis  Pallasii.  18.  Dryas  inlegrifolia. 

4.  Draba  Alpina.  19.  Dryas  octopetala. 

5.  Draba  corymbosa.  20.  Potentilla  pulchella. 

6.  Draba  hirta.  21.  Potentilla  nivalis. 

1.  Draba  glacialas.  22.  Alchemilla  vulgaris. 

8.  Draba  rupestris.  23.  Saxifraga  oppositifolia 

9.  Cochlearia  officinalis.  24.  Saxifraga  flagellaris. 

10.  Vesicaria  Arctica.  25.  Saxifraga  ccespitosa. 

11.  Arenaria  Arctica.  26.  Saxifraya  rivularis. 

12.  Slellaria  humifusa.  27.  Saxifraga  tricuspidata. 

13.  Stellaria  Strict  a.  28.  Saxifraga  cornua. 

14.  Cerastium  Alpinum.  29.  Saxifraga  nivalis. 

15.  Silene  acaulis.  30.  Leontodon  palustre. 


SUMMER  SHOWERS.  399 

June  25th. 

A  rainy  day  for  a  novelty.  Nearly  an  inch  of  water 
has  fallen  already,  and  it  still  continues  to  patter  upon 
the  deck.  I  was  out  completing  my  geological  collec- 
tions when  the  shower  began,  and  not  only  got  thor- 
oughly soaked,  but  had  like  to  have  got  killed  into 
the  bargain  ;  for,  in  attempting  to  cross  a  small  glacier 
which  lay  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  my  feet  flew  up  in  con- 
sequence of  the  water  making  it  more  slippery,  and  I 
slid  down  over  the  ice  and  the  stones  which  stuck  up 
through  it,  and  was  finally  landed  among  the  rocks 
below  with  many  bruises  and  not  much  clothing. 

The  thermometer  has  stood, at  48°,  and  the  contin- 
uance of  the  warmth  since  the  20th,  together  with 
this  "gentle  rain  from  heaven,"  is  telling  upon  the 
ice.  It  is  getting  very  rotten,  and  the  sea  is  eating 
into  it  rapidly.  The  "  hinge  "  of  the  ice-foot  is  tum- 
bling to  pieces,  and  we  have  trouble  in  getting  ashore. 

June  26th. 

Our  summer  shower  has  changed  its  complexion, 

and  the  "  gentle  rain  "  is  converted  into  hail  and  snow. 

'  quite  as  unseasonable  as  it  is  disagreeable.    The  white 

Bnow  with  which  a  fierce  wind  has  bespattered  the 

31.  Campanula  linifolin.  48.  Salix  herbacea. 

82.  Vaccinium  uliginosum.  44.  Luzula  (too  young). 

83.  Andromeda  tetragona.  45.  Carex  rigida. 

84.  Pt/rola  chtorantha.  46.  Eriophorum  vaginalum. 

85.  Bartsia  Alpina.  47.  Alopecurus  Alpinus. 

86.  Pedicularis  Kanei.  48.   Glyceria  Arctica. 
t7.  Armeria  Labradorica.  49.  Poa  Arctica. 

88.  Polygonum  viviparum.  50.  Poa  Alpina. 

89.  Oxyria  didyma.  51.  Hierocloa  Alpina. 

40.  Empelrum  nigrum.  52.  Festuca  ovina. 

41.  Betula  nana.  63.  Lycopodium  annotinum. 

42.  Salix  Arctica. 


400  A   SUMMER  STORM. 

cliffs  gives  a  very  un-June-like  aspect  to  the  prospect 
from  the  deck.  The  wind  is  southerly,  and  the  waves, 
coming  into  the  bay  with  no  other  resistance  than 
that  given  by  a  few  icebergs,  begin  to  shake  the  ice 
about  the  schooner,  and  we  can  see  the  pulsations  of 
the  seas  in  the  old  fire-hole.  I  should  not  much  relish 
seeing  the  ice  crumbling  to  pieces  about  us  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  storm. 

June  27th. 

The  storm  continues,  —  occasional  rain,  mixed  up 
with  a  great  deal  of  hail.  The  scene  from  the  deck, 
to  seaward,  was  so  wild  that  I  was  tempted  to  the 
nearest  island,  (the  only  one  of  the  three  not  in  open 
water,)  to  get  a  better  view  of  it.  I  had  much  trouble 
facing  the  wind,  and  was  nearly  blown  into  the  sea, 
and  the  hail  cut  the  face  terribly.  The  little  flowers, 
which  had  been  seduced  by  the  warm  sun  of  last  week 
into  unveiling  their  modest  faces,  seemed  shrinking 
and  dejected. 

I  was,  however,  repaid  for  some  discomfort  by  the 
scene  which  I  have  brought  back  in  my  memory,  and 
which  is  to  go  down  on  a  sheet  of  clean  white  paper 
that  is  now  drying  on  a  drawing-board  which  I  owe  to 
McCormick's  ingenuity.  I  have  not  seen  the  equal 
of  this  storm  except  once  —  a  memorable  occasion  — 
last  year,  when  we  were  fighting  our  way  into  Smith 
Sound.  The  wind  seemed,  as  it  did  then,  fairly  to 
shovel  the  water  up  and  pitch  it  through  the  air,  until 
it  had  to  stop  from  sheer  exhaustion,  and  then  I  could 
see  away  off  under  a  dark  cloud  a  vast  multitude  of 
white  specks  creeping  from  the  gloom,  and  moving 
along  in  solid  phalanx,  magnifying  as  they  came,  and 
charging  the  icebergs,  hissing  over  their  very  sum- 
mits, or  breaking  their  heads  upon  the  islands,  or 


FRESH   EGGS.  401 

wreaking  their  fury  on  the  ice  of  the  harbor,  into 
which  their  Titan  touch  opened  many  a  gaping 
wound. 

June  28th. 

The  storm  subsiding  this  morning,  a  party  got  a 
boat  over  the  ice  into  the  water,  and,  pulling  to  the 
outer  island,  brought  back  the  first  fresh  eggs  of  the 
season.  Those  of  the  little  tern  or  sea-swallow  are 
the  most  delightful  eggs  that  I  have  ever  tasted. 
Those  of  the  eider-duck  are,  like  the  eggs  of  all  other 
duck,  not  very  palatable.  Knorr  lit  upon  a  patch  of 
cochlearia  which  had  just  sprouted  up  around  the  bird- 
nests  of  the  last  year,  and  no  head  of  the  first  spring- 
lettuce  was  ever  more  enjoyed.  I  had  a  capital  salad. 
The  islands  promise  to  give  us  all  the  eggs  we  want, 
and  we  shall  have  little  more  trouble  in  getting  them 
than  a  housewife  who  sends  to  the  farm-yard.  The 
ducks  have  plucked  the  first  instalment  of  down  from 
their  breasts,  and  Jensen  has  brought  in  a  good-sized 
bagful  of  it.  The  poor  birds  have  been,  I  fear,  robbed 
to  little  purpose,  and  will  have  to  pick  themselves 
again.  Jensen  tells  me  that,  upon  the  islands  near 
Upernavik,  where  he  has  often  gone  for  eider-down, 
the  male  bird  is  sometimes  obliged  to  pluck  off  his 
handsome  coat,  to  help  out  his  unhappy  spouse,  when 
she  has  been  so  often  robbed  that  she  can  pluck  no 
more  of  the  tender  covering  for  her  eggs  from  her 

naked  breast. 

June  30th. 

Another  rain-storm,  during  which  half  an  inch  of 
water  has  fallen.  The  temperature  has  gone  down  to 
38°.  The  ice  is  loosening,  and  threatens  to  break  up 
bodily. 

26 


402    UPHEAVAL  OF  THE  GREENLAND  COAST. 

• 

July  2d. 

I  have  been  occupied  during  the  past  two  days  with 
running  a  set  of  levels  from  the  harbor  across  to  the 
fiord  and  with  plotting  the  terraces.  These  terraces 
are  twenty-three  in  number  and  rise  very  regularly  to 
an  altitude  of  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  above  the 
mean  tide-level.  The  lowest  rises  thirty-two  feet 
higher  than  the  tide,  but  above  this  they  climb  up 
with  great  regularity.  They  are  composed  of  small 
pebbles  rounded  by  water  action. 

Of  these  terraces  I  have  frequently  made  mention 
in  this  journal,  and  their  existence  in  all  similar  local- 
ities has  been  before  remarked.  They  have  much 
geological  interest,  .as  illustrating  the  gradual  up- 
heaval of  that  part  of  Greenland  lying  north  of  lati- 
tude 76° ;  and  the  interest  attaching  to  them  is 
heightened  when  viewed  in  connection  with  the  corre- 
sponding depression  which  has  taken  place,  even 
within  the  period  of  Christian  occupation,  in  southern 
Greenland.  These  evidences  of  the  sinking  of  the 
Greenland  coast  from  about  Cape  York,  southward,  are 
too  well  known  to  need  any  comment  in  this  place  ; 
but  I  may  dwell,  for  a  few  moments,  upon  the  evi- 
dences of  rising  of  the  coast  here  and  northward.  At 
many  conspicuous  points,  where  the  current  is  swift 
and  the  ice  is  pressed  down  upon  the  land  with  great 
force  and  rapidity,  the  rocks  are  worn  away  until  they 
are  as  smooth  and  polished  as  the  surface  of  a  table, 
—  a  fact  which  may  at  any  time  be  observed  by 
looking  down  through  the  clear  water.  This  smooth- 
ness of  the  rock  continues  above  the  sea,  to  an  eleva- 
tion which  I  have  not  been  able  with  positive  accu- 
racy to  determine  in  any  locality,  but  having  a  gen- 
eral correspondence  to  the  height  of  the  terraces  at 


GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES.  403 

Port  Foulke,  which,  as  before  observed,  rise  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  feet  above  the  sea-level.  At  Cairn  Point 
the  abrasion  is  very  marked,  and,  where  the  polished 
line  of  syenitic  rock  leaves  off  and  the  rough  rock  be- 
gins, is  quite  clearly  defined.  This  same  condition  also 
exists  at  Littleton  Island  (or,  rather,  McGary  Island, 
which  lies  immediately  outside  of  it)  to  an  almost 
equally  marked  degree.  I  have  before  mentioned  the 
evidences  of  a  similar  elevation  of  the  opposite  coast 
found  in  the  terraced  beaches  of  Grinnell  Land. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  here,  actually  taking  place 
before  our  eyes,  those  geological  events  which  have 
transpired  in  southern  latitudes  during  the  glacier 
epoch,  not  only  in  the  abrasion  of  the  rock  as  seen  at 
Cairn  Point  and  elsewhere,  but  in  the  changes  which 
they  work  in  the  deeper  sea.  In  this  agency  the  ice- 
foot bears  a  conspicuous  influence.  This  ice-foot  is 
but  a  shelf  of  ice,  as  it  were,  glued  against  the  shore, 
and  is  the  winter-girdle  of  all  the  Arctic  coasts.  It  is 
wide  or  narrow  as  the  shore  slopes  gently  into  the  sea 
or  meets  it  abruptly.  It  is  usually  broken  away  to- 
ward the  close  of  every  summer,  and  the  masses  of 
rock  which  have  been  hurled  down  upon  it  from  the 
cliffs  above  are  carried  away  and  dropped  in  the  sea, 
when  the  raft  has  loosened  from  the  shore  and  drifted 
off,  steadily  melting  as  it  floats.  The  amount  of  rock 
thus  transported  to  the  ocean  is  immense,  and  yet  it 
foils  far  short  of  that  which  is  carried  by  the  icebergs ; 
the  rock  and  sand  imbedded  in  which,  as  they  lay  in 
the  parent  glacier,  being  sometimes  sufficient  to  bear 
them  down  under  the  weight  until  but  the  merest 
fragment  rises  above  the  surface.  As  the  berg  melts, 
the  rocks  and  sand  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  ; 
and,  if  the  place  of  their  deposit  should  one  day  rise 


404  A  WALRUS  HUNT. 

above  the  sea-level,  some  geological  student  of  futuie 
ages  may,  perhaps,  be  as  much  puzzled  to  know  how 
they  came  there  as  those  of  the  present  generation 
are  to  account  for  the  boulders  of  the  Connecticut 
valley. 

July  3d. 

I  have  had  a  walrus  hunt  and  a  most  exciting  day's 
sport.  Much  ice  has  broken  adrift  and  come  down 
the  Sound,  during  the  past  few  days ;  and,  when  the 
sun  is  out  bright  and  hot,  the  walrus  come  up  out  of 
the  water  to  sleep  and  bask  in  the  warmth  on  the 
pack.  Being  upon  the  hill-top  this  morning  to  select 
a  place  for  building  a  cairn,  my  ear  caught  the  hoarso 
bellowing  of  numerous  walrus ;  and,  upon  looking  over 
the  sea  I  observed  that  the  tide  was  carrying  the  pack 
across  the  outer  limit  of  the  bay,  and  that  it  was  alive 
with  the  beasts,  which  were  filling  the  air  with  such 
uncouth  noises.  Their  numbers  appeared  to  be  even 
beyond  conjecture,  for  they  extended  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  almost  every  piece  of  ice  being  covered. 
There  must  have  been,  indeed,  many  hundreds  or 
even  thousands. 

Hurrying  from  the  hill,  I  called  for  volunteers,  and 
quickly  had  a  boat's  crew  ready  for  some  sport.  Put- 
ting three  rifles,  a  harpoon,  and  a  line  into  one  of  the 
whale-boats,  we  dragged  it  over  the  ice  to  the  open 
water,  into  which  it  was  speedily  launched. 

We  had  about  two  miles  to  pull  before  the  margin 
of  the  pack  was  reached.  On  the  cake  of  ice  to 
which  we  first  came,  there  were  perched  about  two 
dozen  animals ;  and  these  we  selected  for  the  attack. 
They  covered  the  raft  almost  completely,  lying 
huddled  together,  lounging  in  the  sun  or  lazily  roll- 
ing and  twisting  themselves  about,  as  if  to  expose 


A   WALRUS  HUNT.  405 

some  fresh  part  of  their  unwieldy  bodies  to  the 
warmth,  —  great,  ugly,  wallowing  sea-hogs,  they  were 
evidently  enjoying  themselves,  and  were  without  ap- 
prehension of  approaching  danger.  We  neared  them 
slowly,  with  muffled  oars. 

As  the  distance  between  us  and  the  game  steadily 
narrowed,  we  began  to  realize  that  we  were  likely  to 
meet  with  rather  formidable  antagonists.  Their  as- 
pect was  forbidding  in  the  extreme,  and  our  sensa- 
tions were  perhaps  not  unlike  those  which  the  young 
soldier  experiences  who  hears  for  the  first  time  the 
order  to  charge  the  enemy.  We  should  all,  very  pos- 
sibly, have  been  quite  willing  to  retreat  had  we  dared 
own  it.  Their  tough,  nearly  hairless  hides,  which  are 
about  an  inch  thick,  had  a  singularly  iron-plated  look 
about  them,  peculiarly  suggestive  of  defense  ;  while 
their  huge  tusks,  which  they  brandished  with  an  ap- 
pearance of  strength  that  their  awkwardness  did  not 
diminish,  looked  like  very  formidable  weapons  of 
offense  if  applied  to  a  boat's  planking  or  to  the  hu- 
man ribs,  if  one  should  happen  to  find  himself  floun- 
dering in  the  sea  among  the  thick-skinned  brutes. 
To  complete  the  hideousness  of  a  facial  expression 
which  the  tusks  rendered  formidable  enough  in  ap- 
pearance, Nature  had  endowed  them  with  broad  flat 
noses,  which  were  covered  all  over  with  stiff  whiskers, 
looking  much  like  porcupine  quills,  and  extending  up 
to  the  edge  of  a  pair  of  gaping  nostrils.  The  use  of 
these  whiskers  is  as  obscure  as  that  of  the  tusks ; 
though  it  is  probable  that  the  latter  may  be  as  well 
weapons  of  offense  and  defense  as  for  the  more  useful 
purpose  of  grubbing  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea 
the  mollusks  which  constitute  their  principal  food. 
There  were  two  old  bulls  in  the  herd  who  appeared 


406  A  WALRUS   HUNT. 

to  be  dividing  their  time  between  sleeping  and  jam- 
ming their  tusks  into  each  other's  faces,  although  they 
appeared  to  treat  the  matter  with  perfect  indifference, 
as  they  did  not  seem  to  make  any  impression  on  each 
other's  thick  hides.  As  we  approached,  these  old  fel- 
lows —  neither  of  which  could  have  been  less  than 
sixteen  feet  long,  nor  smaller  in  girth  than  a  hogs- 
head —  raised  up  their  heads,  and,  after  taking  a  lei- 
surely survey  of  us,  seemed  to  think  us  unworthy  of 
further  notice ;  and,  then  punching  each  other  again 
in  the  face,  fell  once  more  asleep.  This  was  exhibit- 
ing a  degree  of  coolness  rather  alarming.  If  they 
had  showed  the  least  timidity,  we  should  have  found 
some  excitement  in  extra  caution ;  but  they  seemed 
to  make  so  light  of  our  approach  that  it  was  not  easy 
to  keep  up  the  bold  front  with  which  we  had  com- 
menced the  adventure.  But  we  had  come  quite  too 
far  to  think  of  backing  out ;  so  we  pulled  in  and  made 
ready  for  the  fray. 

Beside  the  old  bulls,  the  group  contained  several 
cows  and  a  few  calves  of  various  sizes,  —  some  evi- 
dently yearlings,  others  but  recently  born,  and  others 
half  or  three  quarters  grown.  Some  were  without 
tusks,  while  on  others  they  were  just  sprouting  ;  and 
above  this  they  were  of  all  sizes  up  to  those  of  the 
big  bulls,  which  had  great  curved  cones  of  ivory, 
nearly  three  feet  long.  At  length  we  were  within  a 
few  boats'  lengths  of  the  ice-raft,  and  the  game  had 
not  taken  alarm.  They  had  probably  never  seen  a 
boat  before.  Our  preparations  were  made  as  we  ap- 
proached. The  walrus  will  always  sink  when  dead, 
unless  held  up  by  a  harpoon-line ;  and  there  were 
therefore  but  two  chances  for  us  to  secure  our  game 
—  either  to  shoot  the  beast  dead  on  the  raft,  or  to 


A  WALRUS   HUNT.  407 

get  a  harpoon  well  into  him  after  he  was  wounded, 
and  hold  on  to  him  until  he  was  killed.  As  to  killing 
the  animal  where  he  lay,  that  was  not  likely  to  hap- 
pen, for  the  thick  skin  destroys  the  force  of  the  ball 
before  it  can  reach  any  vital  part,  and  indeed,  at  a  dis- 
tance, actually  flattens  it ;  and  the  skull  is  so  heavy 
that  it  is  hard  to  penetrate  with  an  ordinary  bullet, 
unless  the  ball  happens  to  strike  through  the  eye. 

To  Miller,  a  cool  and  spirited  fellow,  who  had  been 
after  whales  on  the  "  nor- west  coast,"  was  given  the 
harpoon,  and  he  took  his  station  at  the  bows ;  while 
Knorr,  Jensen,  and  myself  kept  our  places  in  the 
stern-sheets,  and  held  our  rifles  in  readiness.  Each 
selected  his  animal,  and  we  fired  in  concert  over  the 
heads  of  the  oarsmen.  As  soon  as  the  rifles  were  dis- 
charged, I  ordered  the  men  to  "  give  way,"  and  the 
boat  shot  right  among  the  startled  animals  as  they 
rolled  off  pell-mell  into  the  sea.  Jensen  had  fired  at 
the  head  of  one  of  the  bulls,  and  hit  him  in  the  neck ; 
Knorr  killed  a  young  one,  which  was  pushed  off  in 
the  hasty  scramble  and  sank ;  while  I  planted  a  minie- 
ball  somewhere  in  the  head  of  the  other  bull  and 
drew  from  him  a  most  frightful  bellow,  —  louder,  I 
venture  to  say,  than  ever  came  from  wild  bull  of 
Bashan.  When  he  rolled  over  into  the  water,  which 
he  did  with  a  splash  that  sent  the  spray  flving  all 
over  us,  he  almost  touched  the  bows  of  the  boat  and 
gave  Miller  a  good  opportunity  to  get  in  his  harpoon, 
which  he  did  in  capital  style. 

The  alarmed  herd  seemed  to  make  straight  for  the 
bottom,  and  the  line  spun  out  over  the  gunwale  at  a 
fearful  pace ;  but,  having  several  coils  in  the  boat,  the 
end  was  not  reached  before  the  animals  began  to  rise, 
and  we  took  in  the  slack  and  got  ready  for  what  was 


408  A  WALRUS   HUNT. 

to  follow.  The  strain  of  the  line  whipped  the  boat 
around  among  some  loose  fragments  of  ice,  and  the 
line  having  fouled  among  it,  we  should  have  been  in 
great  jeopardy  had  not  one  of  the  sailors  promptly 
sprung  out,  cleared  the  line,  and  defended  the  boat. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  whole  herd  appeared  at  the 
surface,  about  fifty  yards*  away  from  us,  the  harpooned 
animal  being  among  them.  Miller  held  fast  to  his 
line,  and  the  boat  was  started  with  a  rush.  The 
coming  up  of  the  herd  was  the  signal  for  a  scene 
which  baffles  description.  They  uttered  one  wild 
concerted  shriek,  as  if  an  agonized  call  for  help ;  and 
then  the  air  was  filled  with  answering  shrieks.  The 
"  huk  !  huk  !  huk  ! "  of  the  wounded  bulls  seemed  to 
find  an  echo  everywhere,  as  the  cry  was  taken  up  and 
passed  along  from  floe  to  floe,  like  the  bugle-blast 
passed  from  squadron  to  squadron  along  a  line  of  bat- 
tle"; and  down  from  every  piece  of  ice  plunged  the 
startled  beasts,  as  quickly  as  the  sailor  drops  from  his 
hammock  when  the  long-roll  beats  to  quarters.  With 
their  ugly  heads  just  above  the  water,  and  with 
mouths  wide  open,  belching  forth  the  dismal  "  huk ! 
huk  !  huk  ! "  they  came  tearing  toward  the  boat. 

In  a  few  moments  we  were  completely  surrounded, 
and  the  numbers  kept  multiplying  with  astonishing 
rapidity.  The  water  soon  became  alive  and  black 
with  them. 

They  seemed  at  first  to  be  frightened  and  irreso- 
lute, and  for  a  time  it  did  not  seem  that  they  medi- 
tated mischief;  but  this  pleasing  prospect  was  soon 
•dissipated,  and  we  were  forced  to  look  well  to  our 
safety. 

That  they  meditated  an  attack  there  could  no 
longer  be  a  doubt.  To  escape  the  onslaught  was  im- 


A   WALRUS   HUNT.  409 

possible.  We  had  raised  a  hornet's  nest  about  our 
ears  in  a  most  astonishingly  short  space  of  time,  and 
we  must  do  the  best  we  could.  Even  the  wounded 
animal  to  which  we  were  fast  turned  upon  us,  and  we 
became  the  focus  of  at  least  a  thousand  gaping,  bel- 
lowing mouths. 

It  seemed  to  be  the  purpose  of  the  walrus  to  get 
their  tusks  over  the  gunwale  of  the  boat,  and  it  was 
evident  that,  in  the  event  of  one  such  monster  hook- 
ing on  to  us,  the  boat  would  be  torn  in  pieces  and  we 
would  be  left  floating  in  the  sea  helpless.  We  had 
good  motive  therefore  to  be  active.  Miller  plied  his 
lance  from  the  bows,  and  gave  many  a  serious  wound 
The  men  pushed  back  the  onset  with  their  oars,  while 
Knorr,  Jensen,  and  myself  loaded  and  fired  our  rifles  as 
rapidly  as  we  could.  Several  times  we  were  in  great 
jeopardy,  but  the  timely  thrust  of  an  oar,  or  the  lance, 
or  a  bullet  saved  us.  Once  I  thought  we  were  surely 
gone.  I  had  fired,  and  was  hastening  .  to  load  ;  a 
wicked-looking  brute  was  making  at  us,  and  it  seemed 
probable  that  he  would  be  upon  us.  I  stopped  load- 
ing, and  was  preparing  to  cram  my  rifle  down  his 
throat,  when  Knorr,  who  had  got  ready  his  weapon, 
sent  a  fatal  shot  into  his  head.  Again,  an  immense 
animal,  the  largest  that  I  had  ever  seen  and  with 
tusks  apparently  three  feet  long,  was  observed  to  be 
making  his  way  through  the  herd  with  mouth  wide 
open,  bellowing  dreadfully.  I  wras  now  as  before 
busy  loading ;  Knorr  and  Jensen  had  just  discharged 
their  pieces,  and  the  men  were  well  engaged  with 
their  oars.  It  was  a  critical  moment,  but,  happily,  I 
was  in  time.  The  monster,  his  head  high  above  the 
boat,  was  within  two  feet  of  the  gunwale,  when  I 
raised  my  piece  and  fired  into  his  mouth.  The  dis- 


410  A   WALRUS   HUNT. 

charge  killed  him  instantly,  and  he  went  down  like  a 
stone. 

This  ended  the  fray.  I  know  not  why,  but  the 
whole  herd  seemed  suddenly  to  take  alarm,  and  all 
dove  down  with  a  tremendous  splash  almost  at  the 
same  instant.  When  they  came  up  again,  still  shriek- 
ing as  before,  they  were  some  distance  from  us,  their 
heads  all  now  pointed  seaward,  making  from  us  as 
fast  as  they  could  go,  their  cries  growing  more  and 
more  faint  as  they  retreated  in  the  distance. 

We  must  have  killed  at  least  a  dozen,  and  mortally 
wounded  as  many  more.  The  water  was  in  places 
red  with  blood,  and  several  half-dead  and  dying  ani- 
mals lay  floating  about  us.  The  bull  to  which  we 
were  made  fast  pulled  away  with  all  his  might  after 
the  retreating  herd,  but  his  strength  soon  became  ex- 
hausted ;  and,  as  his  speed  slackened,  we  managed  to 
haul  in  the  line,  and  finally  approached  him  so  nearly 
that  our  rifle-balls  took  effect,  and  Miller  at  length 
gave  him  the  coup  de  grace  with  his  lance.  We  then 
drew  him  to  the  nearest  piece  of  ice,  and  I  had  soon 
a  fine  specimen  to  add  to  my  Natural  History  collec- 
tions. Of  the  others  we  secured  only  one ;  the  rest 
had  died  and  sunk  before  we  reached  them. 

I  have  never  before  regarded  the  walrus  as  a  really 
formidable  animal ;  but  this  contest  convinces  me  that 
I  have  done  their  courage  great  injustice.  They  are 
full  of  fight ;  and,  had  we  not  been  very  active  and 
self-possessed,  our  boat  would  have  been  torn  to  pieces, 
and  we  either  drowned  or  killed.  A  more  fierce  at- 
tack than  that  which  they  made  upon  us  could  hardly 
be  imagined,  and  a  more  formidable  looking  enemy 
than  one  of  these  huge  monsters,  with  his  immense 
tusks  and  bellowing  throat,  would  be  difficult  to  find. 


THE  "GLORIOUS  FOURTH."  411 

Next  time  I  try  them  I  will  arm  my  boat's  crew  with 
lances.  The  rifle  is  a  poor  reliance,  and,  but  for  the 
oars,  the  herd  would  have  been  on  top  of  us  at  any 
time. 

July  4th. 

The  "  glorious  Fourth  "  gives  us  a  sorry  greeting  — 
rain  and  hail  and  snow  are  unusual  accompaniments 
to  this  national  holiday.  The  thermometer  has  gone 
down  almost  to  the  freezing  point ;  but,  nevertheless, 
we  have  fired  our  salute,  and  have  displayed  our  bunt- 
ing, as  in  duty  bound.  Thanks  to  the  hunters,  we  have 
had  a  good  dinner  of  venison  and  birds,  winding  up 
with  a  cochlearia  salad ;  and  if  we  lacked  the  oration, 
we  did  not  the  less  turn  our  thoughts  to  the  ever  dear 
land,  where  all  are  gay,  —  all  alike  forgetting  for  the 
time  their  differences  of  party  creeds  and  party  inter- 
ests, unite  together  under  the  nation's  broad  banner, 
to  hail  the  returning  dawn  of  its  wonderful  career, 
and  to  drink  bumpers  to  fraternal  union.  God  bless 
the  day ! 

July  7th. 

I  have  been  up  to  Littleton  Island  for  three  days, 
watching  the  ice,  hunting,  etc.  We  caught  another 
walrus  and  had  another  fight,  but  this  time  we  had 
fewer  enemies,  and  drove  them  off  very  quickly. 

Littleton  and  McGary  Islands  are  literally  swarm- 
ing with  birds,  chiefly  eider-ducks  and  burgomasters. 
There  was  no  end  to  the  number  that  could  have  been 
shot.  The  eggs  have  nearly  all  chicks  in  them,  but 
fortunately  we  have  already  collected  from  the  islands 
of  the  harbor  a  good  supply.  I  found  a  flock  of  brant- 
geese,  but  could  not  discover  their  nests.  The  bur- 
gomaster-gulls are  very  numerous,  but  there  were  no 
ivory  or  other  gulls,  as  I  had  hoped  to  find.  They  do 
not  appear  to  come  so  far  north. 


412      PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEPARTURE. 

The  open  water  has  made  still  further  inroads  upon 
the  ice.  The  islands  are  all  now  in  the  open  sea,  and 
it  is  but  a  few  rods  from  the  ship  to  its  margin.  The 
ice  still  clings  tightly  to  the  schooner,  notwithstand- 
ing all  our  efforts  to  free  her.  In  anticipation  of  a 
southerly  swell  setting  into  the  harbor  and  breaking 
the  ice,  I  have  had  the  men  at  work  for  several  days 
sawing  a  crack  across  the  harbor  from  the  vessel's  fore- 
foot in  the  one  direction,  and  from  the  stern-post  in 
the  other.  The  ice  is  now  only  4J  feet  thick. 

The  sails  are  all  bent  on,  the  hawsers  are  brought 
on  board,  our  depot  ashore  is  completed,  and  we  are 
ready  for  any  fortune.  If  blown  with  the  ice  out  to 
sea,  we  are  fully  prepared. 

Upon  the  hill-top  of  the  north  side  of  the  harbor 
we  have  constructed  a  cairn,  and  under  it  I  have  de- 
posited a  brief  record  of  the  voyage.  The  Observa- 
tory I  leave  standing,  and  Kalutunah  engages  that 
the  Esquimaux  will  not  disturb  it  during  my  absence. 
All  of  them  who  have  been  here  are  so  amply  enriched 
that  I  think  I  ought  to  rely  upon  their  good  faith ; 
yet  the  wood  will  be  valuable  to  them,  and  these  poor 
savages  are  not  the  only  people  who  find  it  hard  to 
resist  temptation. 

July  9th. 

I  have  paid  another  visit  to  Chester  Valley,  and 
have  bade  adieu  to  "Brother  John."  If  the  latter 
continues  to  grow  until  I  come  again,  the  stakes 
which  I  have  stuck  into  its  back  will  show  some  use- 
ful results.  The  valley  was  clothed  in  the  full  robes 
of  summer.  The  green  slopes  were  sparkling  with 
flowers,  and  the  ice  had  wholly  disappeared  from  Alida 
Lake.  Jensen  shot  some  birds  and  tried  hard  to  catch 
a  deer,  and  while  thus  engaged  I  secured  a  yellow- 


AFLOAT  AGAIN  1  413 

winged  butterfly,  and  —  who  would  believe  it?  —  a 
mosquito.  And  these  I  add  to  an  entymological  col- 
lection which  already  numbers  ten  moths,  three  spi- 
ders, two  humble-bees,  and  two  flies,  —  a  pretty  good 
proportion  of  the  genus  Imecta  for  this  latitude,  78°  17' 
N.,  longitude  73°  W. 

July  10th. 

A  heavy  swell  is  setting  into  the  harbor  from  the 
southwest.  There  has  evidently  been  a  strong  south- 
erly wind  outside,  although  it  has  been  blowing  but 
lightly  here.  The  ice  has  been  breaking  up  through 
the  day,  and  crack  after  crack  is  opening  across  the 
harbor.  If  it  lasts  twelve  hours  longer  we  will  be 
liberated.  It  is  a  sort  of  crisis,  and  may  be  a  danger- 
ous one.  The  crashing  of  the  ice  is  perfectly  fright- 
ful. The  schooner  still  holds  fast  in  her  cradle. 

July  llth. 

We  have  passed  through  a  day  of  much  excitement, 
and  are  yet  not  free  from  it  The  seas  continuing  to 
roll  in,  more  cracks  opened  across  the  harbor,  until 
the  swell  at  length  reached  the  vessel.  Late  this 
afternoon,  after  more  than  thirty-six  hours  of  sus- 
pense, the  ice  opened  close  beside  us,  and  after  a  few 
minutes  another  split  came  diagonally  across  the  ves- 
sel. This  was  what  I  had  feared,  and  it  was  to  pre- 
vent it  that  I  had  sawed  across  the  harbor.  The  ice 
was,  however,  quickly  loosened  from  the  bows,  but 
held  by  the  stern,  and  the  wrenches  given  the  schooner 
by  the  first  few  movements  made  every  timber  of  her 
fairly  creak  again  ;  but  finally  the  sawed  crack  came 
to  the  rescue,  and,  separating  a  little,  the  schooner 
gave  a  lurch  to  port,  which  loosened  the  ice  from  un- 
der the  counter,  and  we  were  really  afloat,  but  grind- 
ing most  uncomfortably,  and  are  grinding  still. 


414  WAITING  FOR   A  WIND. 

July  12th. 

The  swell  has  subsided,  the  storm  clouds  have 
cleared  away,  and  the  tide  is  scattering  the  ice  out 
over  the  sea.  We  are  fairly  and  truly  afloat,  and 
once  more  cannot  leave  the  deck  without  a  boat.  It 
is  just  ten  months  to  a  day  since  we  were  locked  up, 
during  which  time  our  little  craft  has  been  a  house 
rather  than  a  ship.  We  are  glad  to  feel  again  the 
motion  of  the  sea ;  and  "  man  the  boat "  seems  a 
novel  order  to  give  when  one  wants  to  go  ashore. 
We  await  only  a  wind  to  send  us  to  sea. 

July  13th. 

Still  calm,  and  we  are  lying  quietly  among  the  ice 
which  so  lately  held  us  prisoners.  I  have  been  ashore, 
taking  leave  of  my  friends  the  Esquimaux.  They 
have  pitched  their  tents  near  by,  and,  poor  fellows  !  I 
am  truly  sorry  to  leave  them.  They  have  all  been 
faithful,  each  in  his  way,  and  they  have  done  me  most 
important  service.  The  alacrity  with  which  they  have 
placed  their  dogs  at  my  disposal  (and  without  these 
dogs  I  could  have  done  absolutely  nothing)  is  the 
strongest  proof  that  they  could  give  me  of  their  de- 
votion and  regard  ;  for  their  dogs  are  to  them  inval- 
uable treasures,  without  which  they  have  no  secu- 
rity against  want  and  starvation,  to  themselves  and 
their  wives  and  children.  True,  I  have  done  them 
some  good,  and  have  given  them  presents  of  great 
value,  yet  nothing  can  supply  the  place  of  a  lost 
dog;  and  out  of  all  that  I  obtained  from  them, 
there  were  but  two  animals  that  survived  the  hard- 
ships of  my  spring  journey.  These  I  have  returned 
to  their  original  owners.  I  have  given  them  high 
hopes  of  my  speedy  return,  and  in  this  prospect  they 
appear  to  take  consolation. 


ADIEU   TO  PORT  FOULKE.  415 

It  is  sad  to  reflect  upon  the  future  of  these  strange 
people ;  and  yet  they  contemplate  a  fate  which  they 
view  as  inevitable,  with  an  air  of  indifference  difficult 
to  comprehend.  The  only  person  who  seemed  seri- 
ously to  feel  any  pang  at  the  prospect  of  the  desolation 
which  will  soon  come  over  the  villages,  is  Kalutunah. 
This  singular  being  —  a  mixture  of  seriousness,  good- 
nature, and  intelligence  —  seems  truly  to  take  pride 
in  the  traditions  of  his  race,  and  to  bevreally  pained 
at  the  prospect  of  their  downfall.  When  I  took  his 
hand  to-day  and  told  him  that  I  would  not  come 
ashore  any  more,  the  tears  actually  started  to  his 
eyes,  and  I  was  much  touched  with  his  earnest  words, 
—  it  was  almost  an  entreaty,  —  "  Come  back  and  save 
us."  Save  them  I  would  and  will,  if  I  am  spared  to 
return ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  upon  no  beings  in 
the  whole  wide  world  could  Christian  love  and  Chris- 
tian charity  more  worthily  fall. 

July  14th. 

Moving  out  to  sea  under  full  sail,  with  a  light  wind 
from  the  eastward.  We  make  little  progress,  but  are 
able  to  pick  our  way  among  the  loose  ice.  As  we 
pass  along,  I  see  shoals  of  old  tin  cans,  dead  dogs, 
piles  of  ashes,  and  other  debris  of  the  winter,  floating 
on  ice-rafts  upon  the  sea,  —  relics  of  the  ten  months 
which  are  gone,  with  all  its  dreary  and  all  its  pleas- 
ant memories.  As  I  retreated  from  the  deck,  I  saw 
the  Esquimaux  standing  on  the  beach,  gazing  after  us ; 
the  little  white  Observatory  grew  dim  in  the  distance ; 
and  I  have  come  below  with  a  kindly  "  Adieu,  Port 
Foulke,"  lingering  on  the  lip. 


CHAPTER  XXXVH. 

LEAVING  PORT  FOULKE.  —  EFFORT  TO  REACH  CAPE  ISABELLA.  —  MEET  TUB 
PACK  AND  TAKE  SHELTER  AT  LITTLETON  ISLAND.  —  HUNTING.  —  ABUN- 
DANCE OF  BIRDS  AND  WALRUS. —  VISIT  TO  CAIRN  POINT.  —  REACHING  TUB 
WEST  COAST.  — VIEW  FROM  CAPE  ISABELLA.  —  PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE.— 
OUR  RESULTS.  —  CHANCES  OF  REACHING  THE  POLAR  SEA  DISCUSSED.  —  THE 
GLACIERS  OF  ELLESMERE  LAND. 

THE  schooner  glided  gently  out  to  sea,  but  the  wind 
soon  died  away  and  the  current  carried  us  down  into 
the  lower  bay,  where  we  moored  to  a  berg,  and  I  went 
ashore  and  got  some  good  photographs  of  Little  Ju- 
lia's Glen  and  Fall,  Sonntag's  Monument,  Crystal  Pal- 
ace Glacier,  and  Cape  Alexander. 

Although  doubtful  as  to  the  prospect  ahead,  I  was 
determined  not  to  quit  the  field  without  making  an- 
other attempt  to  reach  the  west  coast  and  endeavor  to 
obtain  some  further  information  that  might  be  of  ser- 
vice to  me  in  the  future.  I  had  still  a  vague  hope  that, 
even  with  my  crippled  vessel,  some  such  good  prospect 
might  open  before  me  as  would  justify  me  in  remain- 
ing. Accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  wind  came,  we  cast 
off  from  the  friendly  berg,  and  held  once  more  for 
Cape  Isabella.  The  wind  rose  to  a  fresh  breeze  as  we 
crawled  away  from  the  land,  and  the  schooner,  as  if 
rejoiced  at  her  newly  acquired  freedom,  bounded  over 
the  waters  with  her  old  swiftness.  But,  unhappily,  a 
heavy  pack  lay  in  our  course,  through  which,  had  the 
schooner  been  strong,  a  passage  might  have  been 
forced  j  but  as  it  could  not  be  done  without  frequent 


AT  LITTLETON  ISLAND.  417 

collisions  with  the  ice,  the  intention  was  not  enter- 
tained. The  pack  was  not  more  than  ten  miles  from 
the  Greenland  shore,  and  I  therefore  put  back  to 
Littleton  Island,  and  from  that  point  watched  the 
movements  of  the  ice. 

We  found  a  convenient  anchorage  between  Littleton 
and  McGary  Islands,  and  we  reached  it  just  in  time ; 
for  a  severe  gale,  with  thick  snow,  set  in  from  the  north- 
ward as  I  had  anticipated  from  the  appearance  of  the 
sky,  and  held  for  several  days.  Meanwhile  the  people 
amused  themselves  with  hunting.  A  herd  of  deer  was 
discovered  on  Littleton  Island,  and  the  walrus  were 
very  numerous.  Four  of  the  latter  were  captured,  — 
this  time,  however,  not  from  a  boat,  but  by  Hans,  in 
the  true  Esquimau  style.  They  came  along  the  shore 
in  great  numbers,  lying  upon  the  beach  in  the  sun, 
where  Hans  approached  them  stealthily,  and  got  fast 
to  them  one  by  one  with  his  harpoon.  The  line  being 
secured  to  a  rock,  the  animals  were  held  until  they 
were  exhausted,  and  then  drawn  in,  when  they  soon 
became  a  prey  to  the  rifles.  Wishing  to  obtain  a 
young  one  for  a  specimen,  I  joined  the  hunters  ;  and, 
selecting  from  the  herd  which  lay  upon  the  rocks  one 
to  suit  my  purposes,  I  fired  upon  and  killed  it.  The 
others  plunged  quickly  into  the  water.  The  mother 
of  the  dead  calf  was  the  last  to  leave  the  rock,  and 
seemed  to  do  so  very  reluctantly.  In  a  few  moments 
she  came  to  the  surface,  and,  wheeling  around,  discov- 
ered the  young  one  still  lying  upon  the  rock.  Find- 
ing that  it  did  not  answer  to  her  cries,  she  rushed 
frantically  into  the  face  of  danger,  and  in  full  view  of 
the  cause  of  her  woes,  (for  I  had  approached  very 
near  the  spot,)  the  unhappy  creature,  intent  only 
upon  rescuing  her  offspring,  drew  herself  out  of  the 

27 


418  AT  CAPE   ISABELLA. 

water,  crying  piteously  all  the  while,  and,  crawling 
around  it,  pushed  it  before  her  into  the  sea.  I  en- 
deavored first  to  frighten  her  off,  and  then  tried  to 
arrest  her,  and  save  my  specimen,  with  a  fresh  bullet ; 
but  all  to  no  effect.  Although  badly  wrounded,  she 
succeeded  in  her  purpose,  and,  falling  upon  the  dead 
calf  with  her  breast,  carried  it  down  with  her,  and  I 
saw  them  no  more.  I  have  never  seen  a  stronger  or 
more  touching  instance  of  the  devotion  of  mother  to 
its  young,  among  dumb  animals,  and  it  came  from  a 
quarter  wholly  unexpected. 

Having  leisure  while  the  snow-storm  lasted,  I  went 
up  to  Cairn  Point  to  see  how  the  ice  appeared  from 
that  place.  After  waiting  there  for  a  day,  the-  atmos- 
phere cleared  up,  and  I  could  see  with  much  distinct- 
ness to  Cape  Isabella.  The  line  of  the  solid  ice  ex- 
tended in  a  somewhat  irregular  curve  up  the  Sound 
from  that  cape  to  a  few  miles  above  Cairn  Point. 
The  sea  thence  down  into  the  North  Water  was  filled 
with  a  loose  pack. 

The  day  after  my  return  we  put  to  sea.  The  pack 
being  now  much  scattered,  we  entered  it  and  pene- 
trated to  the  margin  of  the  fast  ice  without  difficulty. 
In  two  days  we  reached  the  coast  near  Gale  Point, 
about  ten  miles  below  Cape  Isabella.  Thence  to  the 
cape  I  went  in  a  whale-boat ;  but  the  cape  itself  could 
not  be  passed ;  so  we  hauled  into  the  first  convenient 
bight,  and  climbed  the  hill.  The  view  convinced  me, 
if  I  was  not  convinced  already,  of  the  folly  of  at- 
tempting an}*  thing  further  with  the  schooner.  I  no 
longer  hesitated,  even  in  thought.  My  opinions  were 
thus  recorded  at  the  time  :  — 

"I  am  fully  persuaded,  if  there  still  remained  a 


RESULTS  OF  THE   VOYAGE.  419 

lingering  doubt,  of  the  correctness  of  my  decision 
to  return  home,  and  come  out  next  year  strengthened 
and  refitted  with  stearn.  If  my  impulses  lead  me  to 
try  conclusions  once  more  with  the  ice,  my  judgment 
convinces  me  that  it  would  be  at  the  risk  of  every 
thing.  As  well  use  a  Hudson-river  steamboat  for  a 
battering-ram  as  this  schooner,  with  her  weakened 
bows,  to  encounter  the  Smith  Sound  ice. 

"  I  have  secured  the  following  important  advantages 
for  the  future,  and,  with  these  I  must,  perforce,  rest 
satisfied,  for  the  present :  — 

"  1.  I  have  brought  my  party  through  without  sick- 
ness, and  have  thus  shown  that  the  Arctic  winter 
of  itself  breeds  neither  scurvy  nor  discontent. 

"  2.  I  have  shown  that  men  may  subsist  themselves 
in  Smith  Sound  independent  of  support  from  home. 

"  3.  That  a  self-sustaining  colony  may  be  estab- 
lished at  Port  Foulke,  and  be  made  the  basis  of  an 
extended  exploration. 

"4.  That  the  exploration  of  this  entire  region  is 
practicable  from  Port  Foulke,  —  having  from  that 
starting-point  pushed  my  discoveries  much  beyond 
those  of  my  predecessors,  without  any  second  party 
in  the  field  to  cooperate  with  me,  and  under  the  most 
adverse  circumstances. 

"  5.  That,  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  certainty,  it 
is  shown  that,  with  a  strong  vessel,  Smith  Sound  may 
be  navigated  and  the  open  sea  reached  beyond  it. 

"  6.  I  have  shown  that  the  open  sea  exists. 

"  And  now,  having  proven  this  much,  I  shall  return 
to  Boston,  repair  the  schooner,  get  a  small  steamer, 
and  come  back  as  early  next  spring  as  I  can.  The 


420  RESOURCES  OF  PORT  FOULKE. 

schooner  I  will  leave  at  Port  Foulke  ;  and,  remaining 
there  only  long  enough  to  see  the  machinery  set  in 
motion  for  starting  the  hunt,  collecting  the  Esqui- 
maux, and  establishing  the  discipline  of  the  colony,  I 
will  seek  Cape  Isabella,  and  thence  steam,  northward 
by  the  route  already  designated.  If  I  cannot  reach 
the  open  sea  in  one  season,  I  may  the  next ;  in  any 
event,  I  shall  always  have  at  Port  Foulke  a  produc- 
tive source  of  food  and  furs,  and  a  vessel  to  carry 
them  to  Cape  Isabella,  upon  which  I  may  fall  back ; 
and  if  I  need  dogs,  they  will  be  reared  at  the  colony 
in  any  numbers  that  may  be  required.  Besides,  if  in 
this  exploration  I  should  be  deficient  in  means,  and 
the  expedition  should  be  hereafter  left  entirely  to  its 
own  resources,  a  sufficient  profit  may  be  made  out  of 
the  colony  in  oils,  furs,  walrus  ivory,  eider  down,  etc., 
to  pay  at  least  a  very  considerable  proportion  of  the 
wages  of  the  employes,  beside  subsisting  them.  The 
whole  region  around  Port  Foulke  is  teeming  with 
animal  life,  and  one  good  hunter  could  feed  twenty 
mouths.  Both  my  winter  and  summer  experience 
prove  the  correctness  of  this  opinion.  The  sea 
abounds  in  walrus,  seal,  narwhal,  and  white  whale ; 
the  land  in  reindeer  and  foxes ;  the  islands  and  the 
cliffs,  in  summer,  swarm  with  birds ;  and  the  ice  is  the 
roaming-ground  of  the  bears." 

Thus  much  for  the  future  ;  let  me  now  come  back 
to  the  present. 

Inglefield  has  very  correctly  exhibited  the  expan- 
sion of  Smith  Sound,  as  I  have  had  most  excellent 
opportunity  for  observing,  both  in  my  passage  over, 
and  from  Cape  Isabella.  He  has  placed  some  of  the 
capes  too  far  north,  and  his  local  attraction,  probably, 


CAPE   ISABELLA.  421 

• 

has  caused  a  slight  error  in  the  axis  of  the  Sound. 
His  Victoria  Head  is  the  eastern  cape  of  my  Bache 
Island,  and  his  Cape  Albert  is  the  eastern  cape  of 
Henry  Island. 

The  view  up  the  Sound  from  Cape  Isabella  was 
truly  magnificent.  The  dark,  wall-sided  coast,  ren- 
dered more  dark  in  appearance  by  the  contrast  with 
the  immense  cloak  of  whiteness  that  lay  above  it, 
was  relieved  by  numerous  glaciers,  which  pour 
through  the  valleys  to  the  sea.  The  mer  de  glace  is 
of  great  extent,  and,  rising  much  more  rapidly  and 
being  more  broken,  gives  a  picturesque  effect  not 
belonging  to  the  Greenland  side,  and  adds  much 
to  the  grandeur  of  its  appearance.  The  mountains 
are  lofty,  and  are  everywhere  uniformly  covered  with 
ice  and  snow ;  and  the  glacier  streams  which  descend 
to  the  sea  convey  the  impression  almost  that  there  had 
once  been  a  vast  lake  on  the  mountain-top,  from  which 
the  overflowing  waters,  pouring  down  every  valley, 
had  been  suddenly  congealed. 

Off  Cape  Sabine  there  are  two  islands,  which  I 
name  Brevoort  and  Stalknecht ;  and  another,  midway 
between  them  and  Wade  Point,  which  I  name  Leconte. 
A  deep  inlet  running  parallel  with  the  Cadogen  Inlet 
of  Captain  Inglefield,  fringed  all  around  with  gla- 
ciers set  into  the  dark  rocks  like  brilliants  into  a 
groundwork  of  jet,  opens  between  Wade  Point  and 
Cape  Isabella.  I  leave  the  naming  of  it  until  I  see 
whether  Inglefield  has  not  a  bay  set  down  there,  as  I 
have  not  with  me  the  official  map  of  his  explorations. 

Cape  Isabella  is  a  ragged  mass  of  Plutonic  rock, 
and  looks  as  if  it  had  been  turned  out  of  Nature's 
laboratory  unfinished  and  pushed  up  from  the  sea 
while  it  was  yet  hot,  to  crack  and  crumble  to  pieces 


422  A  "DIAMOND   OF   THE   DESERT." 

in  the  cold  air.  Its  surface  is  barren  to  the  last  de- 
gree ;  immense  chasms  or  canons  cross  it  in  all  di- 
rections, in  which  there  was  not  the  remotest  trace  of 
vegetation,  —  great  yawning  depths  with  jagged  beds 
and  crumbling  sides,  —  sunless  as  the  Cimerian  cav- 
erns of  Avernus. 

As  I  clambered  over  crag  after  crag,  I  thought  that 
I  had  not  in  the  summer-time  anywhere  lit  upon  a 
place  so  devoid  of  life ;  but,  as  if  to  compensate  for 
this  barrenness,  or  through  some  freak  of  Nature,  a 
charming  cup-like  valley  nestled  among  the  forbidding 
hills,  and  upon  it  I  stumbled  suddenly.  Balboa  could 
hardly  have  been  more  surprised  when  he  climbed 
the  hills  of  Darien  and  first  saw  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
It  was  truly  a  "  Diamond  of  the  Desert,"  and  the  lit- 
tle hermitage  in  the  wilderness  of  Engadi  was  not  a 
more,  pleasing  sight  to  the  Knight  of  the  Couchant 
Leopard  than  was  this  to*  me. 

The  few  hardy  plants  which  I  had  found  in  all 
other  localities  had  failed  to  find  a  lodgment  upon  the 
craggy  slopes  of  this  rough  cape,  and  the  rocks  stood 
up  in  naked  barrenness,  without  the  little  fringe  of 
vegetation  which  usually  girdles  them  elsewhere ; 
but  down  into  this  valley  the  seeds  of  life  had  been 
wafted ;  the  grass  and  moss  clothed  it  writh  green  ; 
and  the  poppies  and  buttercups  sprinkled  it  over 
with  leaves  of  gold.  In  its  centre  reposed  a  little 
sparkling  lake,  like  a  diamond  in  an  emerald  setting 
—  a  little  ;;  charmed  sea,"  truly, 

"  Girt  by  mountains  wild  and  hoary  ; " 

and  weird  and  wonderful  as  any  that  ever  furnished 
theme  for  Norland  legend. 

From   the   lower    margin   of   this   lake    a   stream 


A   GLACIER   GROTTO.  423 

rushed  in  a  series  of  cascades  through  a  deep  gorge 
to  the  sea,  and  from  the  valley  a  number  of  little  riv- 
ulets gurgled  among  the  stones,  or  wound  gently 
through  the  soft  moss-beds.  Tracing  one  of  these  to 
its  source,  I  came  upon  a  glen  which  was  terminated 
abruptly  by  a  glacier,  appearing  at  a  little  distance 
like  a  draped  curtain  of  white  satin  drawn  across  the 
narrow  passage,  as  if  to  screen  some  sacred  chamber 
of  the  hills.  As  I  approached  nearer  this  white  cur- 
tain assumed  more  solid  shape,  and  I  observed  that  a 
multitude  of  bright  fountains  fluttered  over  it.  Near 
its  centre  a  narrow  Gothic  archway  led  into  a  spacious 
grotto  filled  with  a  soft  cerulean  light,  fretted  with 
pendants  of  most  fantastic  shape  and  of  rare  trans- 
parency, which  were  reflected,  as  in  a  silver  mirror, 
on  the  still  surface  of  a  limped  pool,  from  which 
gushed  forth  a  crystal  rivulet,  pure  and  sparkling  as 
the  cypress-embowered  waters  that  laved  the  virgin 
limbs  of  the  huntress-queen. 

While  peering  into  the  deep  recesses  of  this  won- 
derful cave,  so  chaste  and  exquisite,  where  solitude 
appeared  to  dwell  alone  and  undisturbed  except  by 
the  soft  music  of  streams,  I  became  suddenly  con- 
scious of  having  been  enticed  into  danger,  Actseon- 
like,  unawares.  A  mass  of  ice  broke  from  the  glacier 
front  and,  splitting  into  numerous  fragments,  the 
shower  came  crushing  down  upon  the  rocks  and  in 
the  water  near  me,  and  sent  me  flying  precipitately 
and  with  my  curiosity  still  unsatisfied. 

Returning  to  the  lake,  I  followed  around  its  green 
border,  plucking,  as  I  went,  a  nosegay  of  bright  flow- 
*ers,  which  have  so  pleasing  an  association  that  they 
will  not  find  place  in  the  "  botanical  collections,"  but, 
rather,  in  another  collection,  —  mementos,  if  less 


424  TRACES   OF  ESQUIMAUX. 

prized,  more  cherished ;  and  the  recollection  which  I 
shall  carry  with  me  of  this  charming  valley,  and  the 
silvery  lake,  and  the  gushing  rivulets,  and  the  grot- 
toed  glacier,  will  be  enhanced  when  I  name  them  in 
remembrance  of  the  fairest  forms  that  ever  flitted 
across  the  memory  of  storm-beaten  traveler,  and  the 
fairest  fingers  that  ever  turned  Afghan  wool  into  a 
cunning  device  to  brighten  the  light  of  a  dingy 
cabin ! 

Upon  going  ashore  at  Gale  Point,  I  discovered 
traces  of  Esquimaux  much  more  recent  than  those  at 
Gould  Bay  and  other  places  on  the  shores  of  Grinnell 
Land.  Indeed  they  were  of  such  a  character  as  to 
cause  me  strongly  to  suspect  that  the  shore  is  at 
present  inhabited.  The  cliffs  are  composed  of  a  dark 
sandstone  which,  to  the  northward  of  the  Point, 
breaks  suddenly  away  into  a  broad  plain  that  slopes 
gently  down  to  the  water's  edge.  This  plain  is  about 
five  miles  wide,  and  is  bounded  at  the  north  much  as 
at  the  south,  by  lofty  cliffs,  which  rise  above  the  prim- 
itive rocks  back  of  Cape  Isabella.  The  plain  was 
composed  of  loose  shingle,  covered  over  in  many 
places  with  large  patches  of  green,  through  which 
flowed  a  number  of  broad  streams  of  water.  These 
streams  sprang  from  the  front  of  a  glacier  which 
bulged  down  the  valley  from  the  mer  de  glace.  It 
was  about  four  miles  from  the  sea,  and  bounded  the 
green  and  stony  slope  with  a  great  white  wall  several 
hundred  feet  high,  above  which  the  snow-covered 
steep  of  the  mer  de  glace  led  the  eye  away  up  to  the 
bald  summits  of  the  distant  mountains.  As  I  looked 
up  at  this  immense  stream  of  ice  it  seemed  as  if  a 
dozen  Niagaras  had  been  bounding  together  into  the 


THE  HER  DE   GLACE. 


425 


valley  and  were  frozen  in  their  fall,  and  the  discharg- 
ing waters  of  the  river  below  had  dried  up,  and  flow- 
ers bloomed  in  the  river-bed.  My  journal  compares 
it  to  a  huge  white  sheet,  hung  upon  a  cord  stretched 
from  cliff  to  cliff. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIIL 

LEAVING  SMITH  SOUND.  —  CROSSING  THE  NORTH  WATER.  —  MEETING  THE 
PACK  —THE  SEA  AND  AIR  TEEMING  WITH  LIFE.  —  REMARKABLE  REFRAC- 
TION—REACHING WHALE  SOUND.— SURVEYING  IN  A  BOAT.  —  THE  SOUND 
TRACED  TO  ITS  TERMINATION.  —  MEETING  ESQUIMAUX  AT  ITEPLIK.  —  HAB- 
ITS OF  THE  ESQUIMAUX.  —  MARRIAGE  CEREMONY.  —  THE  DECAY  OF  THE 
TRIBE.— VIEW  OF  BARDEN  BAY.  — TYNDALL  GLACIER. 

THE  ice  coming  in  at  length  with  an  easterly  wind, 
and  being  unable  to  find  any  harbor  (Cadogen  Inlet 
was  completely  filled  with  ice),  we  had  no  alter- 
native but  to  stand  away  to  the  soutr!  ;  and  this  we 
did  at  a  fortunate  moment,  for  the  ice  crowded  in 
against  the  shore  with  great  rapidity ;  and,  had  we 
waited  longer,  we  should  have  been  unable  to  escape, 
and  would  have  been  driven  upon  the  beach  by  the 
irresistible  pack. 

We  carried  the  wind  along  with  us  down  the  coast 
until  we  reached  below  Talbot  Inlet,  when  we  came 
upon  a  heavy  pack,  and  held  our  course  for  Whale 
Sound,  which  I  was  desirous  of  exploring.  Passing 
close  to  the  land,  I  had  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
observing  the  coast  and  perfecting  the  chart,  espe- 
cially of  Cadogen  and  Talbot  Inlets,  both  of  which 
were  traced  around  their  entire  circuit.  The  coast  is 
everywhere  bristling  with  glaciers.  A  large  island 
lies  below  Talbot  Inlet,  inside  of  the  Mittie  Island 
of  Captain  Inglefield,  and  not  before  laid  down. 

Skirting  the  northern  margin  of  the  ice,  we 
made  a  course  to  the  northeastward,  across  the 


A  RARE  DAY.  427 

North  Water,  through  one  of  the  most  charming  days 
that  I  have  spent  under  the  Arctic  skies.  There  was 
but  the  feeblest  "  cat's-paw  "  to  ruffle  the  sea,  and  we 
glided  on  our  way  over  the  still  waters  through  a 
bright  sunshine.  The  sea  was  studded  ah1  over  with 
glittering  icebergs  and  bits  of  old  floes,  and  here  and 
there  a  small  streak  of  ice  which  had  become  de- 
tached from  the  pack.  The  beasts  of  the  sea  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air  gathered  around  us,  and  the  motion- 
less water  and  the  quiet  atmosphere  were  alive.  The 
walrus  came  snorting  and  bellowing  through  the  sea 
as  if  to  have  a  look  at  us ;  the  seals  in  great  num- 
bers were  continually  putting  up  their  cunning  heads 
all  around  the  vessel;  the  narwhal  in  large  schools, 
"blowing"  lazily,  thrust  their  horns  out  of  the  sea, 
and  their  dappled  bodies  followed  after  with  a  grace- 
ful curve,  as  if  they  enjoyed  the  sunshine  and  were 
loathe  to  quit  it ;  great  numbers  of  white  whale 
darted  past  us ;  the  air  and  the  icebergs  swarmed 
with  gulls  ;  and  flocks  of  ducks  and  auks  were  flying 
over  us  all  the  time.  I  sat  upon  the  deck  much  of 
the  day,  trying,  with  indifferent  success,  to  convey  to 
my  portfolio  the  exquisite  green  tints  of  the  ice  which 
drifted  past  us,  and  watching  a  most  singular  phenom- 
enon in  the  heavens.  These  Arctic  skies  do  some- 
times play  fantastic  tricks,  and  on  no  occasion  have  I 
witnessed  the  exhibition  to  such  perfection.  The  at- 
mosphere had  a  rare  softness,  and  throughout  almost 
the  entire  day  there  was  visible  a  most  remarkable 
mirage  or  refraction,  —  an  event  of  very  frequent  oc- 
currence during  the  calm  days  of  the  Arctic  summer. 
The  entire  horizon  was  lifting  and  doubling  itself  con- 
tinually, and  objects  at  a  great  distance  beyond  it 
rose  as  if  by  strange  enchantment  and  stood  suspended 


428  ARCTIC  MIRAGE. 

in  the  air,  changing  shape  with  each  changing  mo- 
ment. Distant  icebergs  and  floating  ice-fields,  and 
coast-lines  and  mountains  were  thus  brought  into 
view ;  sometimes  preserving  for  a  moment  their  nat- 
ural shapes,  then  widening  or  lengthening,  rising  and 
falling  as  the  wind  fluttered  or  fell  calm  over  the  sea. 
The  changes  were  as  various  as  the  dissolving  images 
of  a  kaleidoscope,  and  every  form  of  which  the  imagi- 
nation could  conceive  stood  out  against  the  sky.  At 
one  moment  a  sharp  spire,  the  prolonged  image  of  a 
distant  mountain-peak,  would  shoot  up ;  and  this 
would  fashion  itself  into  a  cross,  or  a  spear,  or  a  hu- 
man form,  and  would  then  die  away,  to  be  replaced 
by  an  iceberg  which  appeared  as  a  castle  standing 
upon  the  summit  of  a  hill,  and  the  ice-fields  coming 
up  with  it  flanked  it  on  either  side,  seeming  at  one 
moment  like  a  plain  dotted  with  trees  and  animals ; 
again,  as  rugged  mountains ;  and  then,  breaking  up 
after  a  while,  disclosing  a  long  line  of  bears  and  dogs 
and  birds  and  men  dancing  in  the  air,  and  skipping 
from  the  sea  to  the  skies.  To  picture  this  strange 
spectacle  were  an  impossible  task.  There  was  no  end 
to  the  forms  which  appeared  every  instant,  melting 
into  other  shapes  as  suddenly.  For  hours  we  watched 
the  "insubstantial  pageant,"  until  a  wind  from  the 
north  ruffled  the  sea ;  when,  with  its  first  breath,  the 
whole  scene  melted  away  as  quickly  as  the  "  baseless 
fabric "  of  Prospero's  "  vision ; "  and  from  watching 
these  dissolving  images,  and  wooing  the  soft  air,  we 
were,  in  a  couple  of  hours,  thrashing  to  windward 
through  a  fierce  storm  of  rain  and  hail,  under  close- 
reefed  sails. 

We  had  some  ugly  knocking  about  and  some  nar- 
row   escapes    in    the    thick    atmosphere,   before   we 


LOST  IN  THE  FOG.  429 

reached  Whale  Sound.  A  heavy  pack,  apparently 
hanging  upon  the  Carey  Islands,  drove  us  far  up  the 
North  Water;  and,  to  get  to  our  destination,  we 
were  obliged  to  hold  in  close  to  Hakluyt  Island 
Here,  the  air  having  fallen  calm,  I  pulled  ashore ; 
and,  when  we  set  out  to  return,  we  found  ourselves 
enveloped  in  a  fog  which  caused  us  some  alarm.  Ob- 
serving its  approach,  we  pulled  to  catch  the  schooner 
before  the  dark  curtain  closed  upon  us,  but  were  over- 
taken when  almost  a  mile  away.  Having  no  compass 
we  became  totally  ignorant  of  which  way  to  steer; 
and,  although  we  heard  the  ship's  bell  and  an  occa- 
sional discharge  of  guns  to  attract  our  attention,  yet, 
so  deceptive  is  the  ear  where  the  eye  is  not  concerned 
in  guiding  it,  that  no  two  of  us  caught  the  sound 
from  the  same  direction ;  so  we  lay  on  our  oars,  and 
trusted  to  fortune.  After  a  while,  a  light  wind  sprung 
up ;  and  the  schooner.,  getting  under  way,  by  the 
merest  chance  bore  right  upon  us,  and  came  so  sud- 
denly in  view  out  of  the  dark  vapors  that  we  had 
like  to  have  been  run  down  before  we  could  get 
headway  on  the  boat. 

We  had  much  difficulty,  owing  to  the  fogs,  current, 
and  icebergs,  in  getting  up  Whale  Sound  ;  but,  after 
much  patient  perseverance,  we  arrived  at  length  in 
Barden  Bay,  and  came  to  anchor  off  the  native  set- 
tlement of  Netlik. 

The  settlement  was  found  to  be  deserted.  The  fog 
lifting  next  day,,  disclosing  much  heavy  ice,  among 
which  it  would  be  dangerous  to  trust  the  schooner,  I 
took  a  whale-boat  and  pulled  up  the  Sound. 

The  Sound  narrows  steadily  until  a  few  miles  be- 
yond Barden  Bay,  where  the  coasts  run  parallel  until 
the  waters  terminate  in  a  deep  bay  or  gulf,  to  which 


430  AN  ESQUIMAUX  VILLAGE. 

I  gave  the  name  of  the  enterprising  navigator,  Cap- 
tain Inglefield,  who  first  passed  the  entrance  to  it. 
The  coast  on  the  north  side  runs  much  further  south 
than  appears  on  the  old  charts;  and  two  conspicu- 
ous headlands,  which  Inglefield  mistook  for  islands, 
I  have  designated  on  my  chart  by  the  names  which 
the  supposed  islands  have  on  his.  A  cluster  of  islands 
at  the  farther  end  of  the  gulf  I  called  Harvard  Islands, 
in  Temembrance  of  the  University  at  Cambridge,  to 
members  of  whose  faculty  I  am  indebted  for  many 
courteous  attentions  while  fitting  out  in  Boston  ;  and 
a  range  of  noble  mountains  which  rise  from  the  head 
of  the  gulf  and  with  stately  dignity  overlook  the 
broad  mer  de  glace,  holding  the  vast  ice-flood  in  check, 
I  named  the  Cambridge  Hills. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  Sound,  toward  which  the 
Harvard  Islands  seem  to  trend,  there  are  two  promi- 
nent capes  which  I  named  respectively  Cape  Banks 
and  Cape  Lincoln ; *  while  two  deep  bays  are  desig- 
nated as  Cope's  Bay  and  Harrison  Bay.  Another,  on 
the  north  side,  I  called  Armsby  Bay. 

I  had  to  regret  that  I  could  not  reach  the  further 
end  of  the  gul£  The  ice  for  about  twenty  miles  re- 
mained quite  solid  and  impenetrable,  so  that  I  was 
obliged  to  draw  back.  Skirting  along  the  southern 
coast  we  came  upon  the  village  of  Itiplik  and  found 
it  inhabited  by  about  thirty  people.  They  were 
living  in  seal-skin  tents,  three  in  number,  and  were 
overjoyed  to  see  us.  Near  by,  there  was  a  rookery 
of  auks  similar  to  that  near  Port  Foulke,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  seal  and  walrus  that  were  observed  to 

1  In  honor  of  His  Excellency  N.  P.  Banks,  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
and  of  His  Honor  F.  W.  Lincoln,  Mayor  of  Boston,  at  the  time  of  my 
sailing,  in  1860. 


ESQUIMAU   STATISTICS.  431 

be  very  numerous  in*  all  parts  of  the  Sound,  furnished 
them  ample  subsistence.  There  were  in  all  nine  fam- 
ilies, but  there  was  no  family  that  consisted  of  more 
than  four  persons,  —  the  parents  and  two  children. 
The  largest  family  that  I  have  seen  among  them 
was  that  of  Kalutunah.  Hans  told  me  of  several 
families  of  three  children  ;  and  Tattarat,  now  a  lonely 
widower,  lives  on  Northumberland  Island,  near  the 
auk-hill  of  that  place,  with  three  orphans ;  and  his 
wife  bore  him  a  fourth,  which  disappeared  in  some 
mysterious  manner  soon  after  its  mother  died  and 
while  it  was  yet  a  babe  at  the  breast. 

With  the  aid  of  Hans,  I  endeavored  to  get  at  a  cor- 
rect estimate  of  the  whole  tribe,  and,  commencing 
with  Cape  York,  took  down  their  names.  In  this 
community  there  can  be  no  domestic  secrets,  and 
everybody  knows  all  about  everybody  else's  business, 
—  where  they  go  for  the  summer,  and  what  luck  they 
have  had  in  hunting,  —  and  talk  and  gossip  about  it 
aud  about  each  other  just  as  if  they  were  civilized 
beings,  having  good  names  to  pick  to  pieces.  But  I 
strongly  suspect  that  Hans  grew  tired  of  my  ques- 
tioning and  cross-questioning,  and  stopped  short  at 
seventy-two.  I  have  good  reason  to  believe,  however, 
that  the  tribe  numbers  more  nearly  one  hundred.  I 
obtained  a  complete  list  of  the  deaths  which  had 
taken  place  since  Dr.  Kane  left  them,  in  1855.  They 
amounted  to  thirty-four ;  and,  during  that  time,  there 
had  been  only  nineteen  births. 

Their  marriage  engagements  are,  of  necessity,  mere 
matters  of  convenience.  Their  customs  allow  of  a 
plurality  of  wives ;  but  among  this  tribe,  even  if 
there  were  sufficient  women,  no  hunter  probably 
could  support  two  families.  The  marriage  arrange- 


432  ESQUIMAU  MARRIAGE   CEREMONY. 

ment  is  made  by  the  parents,  Und  the  parties  are 
fitted  to  each  other  as  their  ages  best  suit.  When  a 
boy  comes  of  age,  he  marries  the  first  girl  of  suitable 
years.  There  is  no  marriage  ceremony  further  than 
that  the  boy  is  required  to  carry  off  his  bride  by 
main  force ;  for,  even  among  these  blubber-eating 
people,  the  woman  only  saves  her  modesty  by  a  sham 
resistance,  although  she  knows  years  beforehand  that 
her  destiny  is  sealed  and  that  she  is  to  become  the 
wife  of  the  man  from  whose  embraces,  when  the  nup- 
tial day  comes,  she  is  obliged  by  the  inexorable  law 
of  public  opinion  to  free  herself  if  possible,  by  kick- 
ing and  screaming  with  might  and  main  until  she  is 
safely  landed  in  the  hut  of  her  future  lord,  when  she 
gives  up  the  combat  very  cheerfully  and  takes  posses- 
sion of  her  new  abode.  The  betrothal  often  takes 
place  at  a  very  early  period  of  life  and  at  very  dis- 
similar ages.  A  bright-looking  boy  named  Arko, 
which  means  "  The  spear  thrower,"  who  is  not  over 
twelve  years  of  age,  is  engaged  to  a  girl  certainly  of 
twenty,  named  Kartak,  "  The  girl  with  the  large 
breasts."  Why  was  this  ?  I  inquired.  "  There  is  no 
other  woman  for  him."  I  thought  he  looked  rather 
dubious  of  his  future  matrimonial  prospects  when  I 
asked  him  how  soon  he  proposed  to  carry  off  this  big- 
breasted  bride.  Two  others,  whom  I  judged  to  be 
about  ten  years  each,  were  to  be  married  in  this 
romantic  style  as  soon  as  the  lover  had  caught  his 
first  seal.  This,  I  was  told,  is  the  test  of  manhood 
and  maturity. 

I  talked  to  the  oldest  hunter  of  the  tribe,  an  an- 
cient, patriarchal-looking  individual  named  Kesarsoak, 
—  "  He  of  the  white  hairs,"  —  about  the  future  of  the 
tribe.  The  prospect  to  him  was  the  same  as  to  Kalu- 


TYNDALL   GLACIER.  433 

tunah,  —  "  Our  people  have  but  a  few  more  suns  to 
live  ! "  Would  they  all  come  up  to  Etah  if  I  should 
return,  and  stay  there,  and  bring  guns  and  hunters? 
His  answer  was  a  prompt,  "  Yes."  He  told  me,  as 
Kalutunah  had  done  before,  that  Etah  was  the  best 
hunting-place  on  the  coast,  only  the  ice  broke  up  so 
soon  and  was  always  dangerous  ;  while  Whale  Sound 
was  frozen  during  nearly  all  the  year,  and  gave  the 
hunters  greater  security. 

After  returning  to  the  schooner,  I  pulled  up  into 
Barden  Bay,  taking  with  me  the  magnetic  and  sur- 
veying instruments  and  facilities  for  completing  my 
botanical  and  other  collections,  and  for  photographing 
the  fine  scenery  of  the  bay.  Landing  on  its  north 
shore,  we  found  the  hill-side  covered  in  many  places 
with  a  richer  green  sward  than  I  had  ever  seen  north 
of  Upernavik,  except  once  on  a  former  occasion  at 
Northumberland  Island.  The  slope  was  girdled  with 
the  same  tall  cliffs  which  everywhere  meet  the  eye 
along  this  coast ;  and  the  same  summer  streams  of 
melted  snow  tumbled  over  them,  and  down  the  slope 
from  the  mountain  sides.  The  day  was  quite  calm 
and  the  sky  almost  cloudless.  The  sun  shone  broadly 
upon  us,  and  the  temperature  was  51°.  Immense 
schools  of  whales  and  walrus,  with  an  occasional  seal, 
were  sporting  in  the  water ;  flocks  of  sea-fowl  went 
careering  about  the  icebergs  and  through  the  air, 
and  myriads  of  butterflies  fluttered  among  the  flow- 
ers ;  while  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay  an  im- 
mense glacier,1  whose  face  was  almost  buried  in  the 
sea,  carried  the  eye  along  a  broad  and  winding  valley, 
up  steps  of  ice  of  giant  height,  and  over  smooth 
plains  of  whiteness,  around  the  base  of  the  hills,  until 

1  1  have  named  this  glacier  in  honor  of  Professor  John  Tyndall. 
28 


434.  TYNDA.LL   GLACIER. 

at  length  the  slope  pierced  the  very  clouds,  and,  re- 
appearing above  the  curling  vapors,  was  lost  in  the 
blue  canopy  of  the  heavens. 

Three  glaciers  were  visible  from  my  point  of  ob- 
servation, —  a  small  one,  to  the  right,  barely  touching 
the  water,  and  hanging,  as  if  in  suspensive  agony,  in  a 
steep  declivity ;  another,  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  was 
yet  miles  away  from  the  sea ;  while  before  us,  in  the 
centre  of  the  bay,  there  came  pouring  down  the 
rough  and  broken  flood  of  ice  before  alluded  to, 
which,  bulging  far  out  into  the  bay,  formed  a  coast- 
line of  ice  over  two  miles  long. 

The  whole  glacier  system  of  Greenland  was  here 
spread  out  before  me  in  miniature.  A  lofty  mountain- 
ridge,  like  a  whale's  back,  held  in  check  the  expanding 
mer  de  glace,  but  a  broad  cleft  cut  it  in  twain,  and  the 
stream  before  me  had  burst  through  the  opening  like 
cataract  rapids  tumbling  from  the  pent-up  waters  of  a 
lake.  The  sublimity  and  picturesquoness  of  the  scene 
was  greatly  heightened  by  two  parallel  rocky  ridges, 
whose  crests  were  to  the  left  of  the  glacier.  These 
crests  are  trap-dykes,  left  standing  fifty  feet  perhaps 
above  the  sloping  hill-side  below  them,  by  the  wasting 
away  of  the  sandstone  through  which  they  have 
forced  their  way  in  some  great  convulsion  of  Nature. 

On  the  day  following,  I  visited  this  glacier  and 
made  a  careful  examination  of  it,  pulling  first  along 
its  front  in  a  boat  and  then  mounting  to  its  surface. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  any  thing  more 
startling  to  the  imagination  or  more  suggestive  to 
the  mind  than  the  scene  presented  by  this  two  miles 
of  ice  coast-line,  as  I  rowed  along  within  a  few  fathoms 
of  it.  The  glacier  was  broken  up  into  the  most  sin- 
gular shapes,  and  presented  nothing  of  that  uniformity 


GOTHIC  GLACIER.  435 

usual  to  the  glacier's  face.  It  was  worn  and  wasted 
away  until  it  seemed  like  the  front  of  some  vast  in- 
congruous temple,  —  here  a  groined  roof  of  some 
huge  cathedral,  and  there  a  pointed  window  or  a  Nor- 
man doorway  deeply  molded ;  while  on  all  sides 
were  pillars  round  and  fluted,  and  pendants  dripping 
crystal  drops  of  the  purest  water,  and  all  bathed  in  a 
soft,  blue  atmosphere.  Above  these  wondrous  arch- 
ways and  galleries  there  was  still  preserved  the  same 
Gothic  character,  —  tall  spires  and  pinnacles  rose 
along  the  entire  front  and  multiplied  behind  them, 
and  new  forms  met  the  eye  continually.  The  play  of 
light  and  the  magical  softness  of  the  color  of  the  sea 
and  ice  was  perfectly  charming,  as  the  scene  I  have 
heretofore  described  among  the  icebergs.  Strange, 
there  was  nothing  cold  or  forbidding  anywhere.  The 
ice  seemed  to  take  the  warmth  which  suffused  the  air, 
and  I  longed  to  pull  my  boat  far  within  the  openings, 
and  paddle  beneath  the  Gothic  archways.  The  dan- 
gers from  falling  ice  alone  prevented  me  from  enter- 
ing one  of  the  largest  of  them. 

Pulling  around  to  the  west  side  of  the  glacier,  I 
clambered  up  a  steep  acclivity  over  a  pile  of  mud  and 
rock,  which  the  expanding  and  moving  ice  had  pushed 
out  from  its  bed.  Once  at  the  top  of  this  yielding 
slope,  the  eye  was  met  by  a  perfect  forest  of  spires ; 
but  it  was  not  easy  to  get  on  the  glacier  itself.  Along 
its  margin,  half  in  mud  and  rock  and  half  in  ice,  a 
torrent  of  dirty  water  came  tearing  along  at  a  furious 
pace,  disclosing  the  laminated  structure  of  the  ice  in 
a  very  beautiful  manner ;  and  this  was  not  easily 
crossed.  At  length,  however,  I  came  to  a  spot  where 
the  chief  feeder  of  this  rushing  stream  branched  off 
at  right  angles,  coming  from  the  glacier  itself,  and  I 


436  GLACIER   STREAM. 

had  no  difficulty  in  wading  across  above  the  junction 
of  the  two  arms.  Following  thence  up  the  eastward 
branch  as  it  dashed  wildly  down  in  a  succession  of 
cataracts,  cutting  squarely  across  the  laminae  or  strata 
(which  lay  at  an  angle  of  about  35°),  I  came  at  length 
to  a  place  where  the  ice  was  much  disturbed,  and  rose 
by  broken  steps  from  the  plain  on  which  I  stood  to 
the  height  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and 
right  out  from  thjs  wall  came  the  rushing  torrent, 
hissing  and  foaming  from  a  monstrous  tunnel,  to 
which  the  Croton  Aqueduct  would  be  a  pigmy.  It 
was  a  strange  sight.  The  ice  was  perfectly  pure  and 
transparent ;  and  yet,  out  of  its  very  heart,  was  pour- 
ing the  muddy  stream  of  which  I  have  made  mention, 
and  which,  although  the  comparison  is  rather  remote, 
reminded  me  of  the  image  which  Virgil  draws  of  the 
Tiber,  when  ^Eneas  first  beheld  its  turbid  waters, 
pouring  out  from  beneath  the  bright  and  lovely  fo- 
liage which  overspread  it. 

The  tunnel  out  of  which  the  waters  poured  was 
about  ten  yards  wide  and  as  many  high,  the  support- 
ing roof  being  composed  of  every  form  of  Gothic 
arch,  fretted  and  fluted  in  the  most  marvelous  man- 
ner, and  pure  as  the  most  stainless  alabaster ;  yet  the 
distant  effect  within  the  tunnel  was  quite  different, 
—  the  dark  stream  beneath  being  reflected  above ; 
and  truly,  if  I  might  be  allowed  to  paraphrase  a  line 
of  Dryden,  — 

"  The  muddy  bottom  o'er  the  arch  was  thrown." 

I  clambered  within  this  tunnel  as  far  as  I  could,  along 
a  slippery  shelf  above  the  tumbling  waters,  until  the 
light  was  almost  shut  out  behind  me,  but  far  enough 
to  perceive  that,  on  my  right  hand,  other  tunnels  dis- 


CLIMBING  THE   GLACIER.  437 

charged  into  this  main  sewer,  as  the  underground  cul- 
verts which  drain  into  the  main  artery  the  refuse  of  a 
city. 

Returning  to  the  open  air,  I  pursued  my  way  up 
the  glacier  for  a  couple  of  miles  further,  and  discov- 
ered that  this  stream  had  its  origin  in  the  mountain 
on  the  right,  where  the  melting  snows  rolled  over  the 
rocky  slope,  evidently  by  a  newly  formed  channel, 
for  the  water  was  tearing  through  moss-beds  and  de- 
posits of  sand  and  silt,  and,  rushing  thence  on  the  gla- 
cier, tumbled  headlong  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
feet,  down  into  a  yawning  chasm.  This  chasm  or  cre- 
vasse no  doubt  extended  to  the  bottom  of  the  glacier, 
and  the  water,  after  winding  along  the  rocky  bed 
under  the  ice,  finally  has  found  its  way  into  the 
cracks  formed  by  the  ice  in  its  descent  over  a  steep 
and  ragged  declivity,  and  has  slowly  worn  away  the 
tunnels  or  culverts  which  I  have  described. 

I  had  now  come  to  the  gorge  in  the  mountain 
through  which  the  glacier  descends  to  the  sea.  The 
view  of  the  glacier  from  the  margin  is,  at  this  point, 
somewhat  like  what  I  fancy  the  mer  de  glace  at  Trela- 
porte,  in  the  Alps,  would  be  if  the  Grande  Jorasse 
and  Mont  Tacul,  and  the  other  mountains  which 
form  the  cradle  for  the  glacier  de  Lechaud  and  the 
glacier  du  Geant,  and  their  tributaries,  were  all  leveled. 
Instead  of  the  variety  disclosed  in  the  Alpine  view, 
the  eye  lights  here  upon  one  expanding  stream 
instead  of  many  streams,  which  narrows  as  it  ap- 
proaches the  pass  until  it  is  about  two  miles  over; 
thence  descending  the  steep  declivity  to  the  sea, 
breaking  up  as  it  moves  over  the  rougher  places  in 
the  manner  before  described. 

In  all  my  glacier  experience  I  had  not  seen  any 


438  GRANDEUR  OF  THE   GLACIERS. 

thing  so  fully  exhibiting  the  principles  of  glacier 
movement  or  so  forcibly  illustrating  the  river-like  char- 
acter of  the  crystal  stream.  To  scale  the  glacier  fur- 
ther was  not  in  my  power ;  but  the  eye  climbed  up, 
step  by  step,  through  the  mountain-pass  to  the  giddy 
summit,  and  as  the  imagination  wandered  from  this 
icy  pinnacle  over  sea  and  mountain,  it  seemed  to  me 
that  the  world  did  not  hold  any  more  impressive  evi- 
dence of  the  greatness  and  the  power  of  the  Almighty 
hand  ;  and  I  thought  how  feeble  were  all  the  efforts 
of  man  in  comparison.  As  I  turned  away  and  com- 
menced my  descent,  I  found  myself  repeating  these 
lines  of  Byron,  penned  as  his  poet-fancy  wandered 
up  the  ice-girdled  steeps  and  over  the  ice -crowned 
summits  of  the  Alps :  — 

" these  are 

The  palaces  of  Nature,  "whose  vast  walls 
Have  pinnacled  in  clouds  their  snowy  scalps, 
And  throned  Eternity  in  icy  halls 
Of  cold  sublimity." 


II 


If 
ij 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

HOMEWARD  BOUND.  —  ENTERING  MELVILLE  BAY.  —  ENCOUNTER  WITH  A  BEAR. 
—  MEETING  THE  PACK.  — MAKING  THE  "SOUTH  WATER."  — REACHING  UPER- 
NAVIK.  — THE  NEWS. —  TO  GOODHAVEN.  — LIBERALITY  OF  THE  DANISH  GOV- 
ERNMENT AND  THE  GREENLAND  OFFICIALS.  —  DRIVEN  OUT  OF  BAFFIN  BAY 
BY  A  GALE.  — CRIPPLED  1Y  THE  STORM  AND  FORCED  TO  TAKE  SHELTER 
IN  HALIFAX.  —  HOSPITABLE  RECEPTION.  — ARRIVAL  IN  BOSTON.  —  REALIZE 
THE  STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY. —THE  DETERMINATION.  — CONCLUSION. 

MY  story  is  soon  ended.  Having  completed  the  ex- 
ploration of  Whale  Sound,  we  tripped  our  anchor  and 
stood  southward.  The  heavens  were  bright  and  the 
air  soft  with  a  summer  warmth ;  and  as  we  glided 
down  the  waveless  waters,  all  sparkling  with  icebergs, 
watching  the  scene  of  our  adventures  slowly  sinking 
away  behind  us  under  the  crimson  trail  of  the  mid- 
night sun,  it  seemed  truly  as  if  smooth  seas  and  gen- 
tle winds  had  come  to  invite  us  home. 

But  this  repose  of  the  elements  was  of  short  du- 
ration. A  dark  curtain  rose  after  a  while  above  the 
retreating  hills,  and  sent  us  a  parting  salute,  in  the 
shape  of  a  storm  of  snow  and  wind,  so  that  we  were 
soon  obliged  to  gather  in  some  of  our  canvas,  and  keep, 
a  sharp  look-out. 

My  purpose  was  to  reach  the  "West  Water,"  by 
making  a  course  toward  Pond's  Bay,  then  round  the 
"  middle  ice  "  to  the  southward,  and  make  an  easterly 
course  for  the  Greenland  coast. 

The  atmosphere  cleared  up  at  length,  but  the  wind 
held  on  fiercely.  Being  from  the  north-northeast,  it 
seemed  to  me  then  to  favor  an  easterly  rather  than  a 


440  ENCOUNTER  WITH   A  BEAR. 

westerly  passage  ;  so,  having  reached  a  little  below 
the  latitude  of  Cape  York,  on  the  meridian  of  73°  40' 
without  discovering  any  signs  of  ice,  I  changed  my 
original  purpose,  and,  altering  the  course  of  the 
schooner,  struck  directly  across  Melville  Bay  for  Uper- 
navik.  The  result  proved  the  prudence  of  this  change. 
In  twenty-four  hours  we  ran  down  nearly  two  degrees 
of  latitude,  and  hauled  in  seven  degrees  of  longitude, 
finding  ourselves  at  noon  of  August  10th  in  latitude 
74°  19',  longitude  66°,  without  having  encountered 
any  ice  seriously  to  trouble  us.  The  air  still  holding 
clear,  we  had  no  difficulty  in  avoiding  the  bergs. 

The  sea  had  by  this  time  become  very  angry,  and  I 
was  almost  as  anxious  as  I  had  been  the  year  before, 
when  entering  the  bay  from  the  south.  The  atmos- 
phere was,  however,  perfectly  clear. 

While  bounding  along,  logging  ten  knots  an  hour, 
we  almost  ran  over  an  immense  polar  bear,  which  was 
swimming  in  the  open  water,  making  a  fierce  battle 
with  the  seas,  and  seemingly  desirous  of  boarding  us. 
He  was  evidently  much  exhausted,  and,  seeing  the 
vessel  approach,  doubtless  had  made  at  her  in  search  of 
safety.  The  unhappy  beast  had  probably  allowed  him- 
self to  be  drifted  off  on  an  ice-raft  which  had  gone  to 
pieces  under  him  in  the  heavy  seas.  Although  these 
polar  bears  are  fine  swimmers,  I  much  feared  that  the 
waves  would  in  the  end  prove  too  much  for  this  poor 
fellow,  as  there  was  not  a  speck  of  ice  in  sight  on 
which  he  could  find  shelter.  As  we  passed,  he  touched 
the  schooner's  side,  and  Jensen,  who  had  seized  a  rifle, 
was  in  the  act  of  putting  an  end  to  his  career,  when  I 
arrested  his  hand.  The  beast  was  making  such  a 
brave  fight  for  his  life  that  I  would  not  see  him  shot, 
more  especially  as  the  waves  were  running  too  high 


RECROSSING   MELVILLE  BAY.  441 

to  lower  a  boat  for  his  carcass,  without  a  risk  which 
the  circumstances  did  not  warrant. 

The  presence  of  this  bear  warned  me  that  the  pack 
could  not  be  very  remote,  and  accordingly  we  short- 
ened sail,  and  I  took  my  old  station  aloft  on  the  fore- 
yard.  Sure  enough  the  pack  was  there,  as  was  soon 
evidenced  by  an  "  ice-blink,"  and  in  a  little  while  we 
were  close  upon  it.  Hauling  by  the  wind,  we  skirted 
its  margin  for  some  time  without  discovering  any  termi- 
nation to  it ;  and,  the  ice  appearing  to  be  very  loose  and 
rotten,  I  stood  away  again  on  our  southerly  course, 
and  entered  the  first  favorable  lead.  It  was  some- 
thing of  a  venture,  as  we  could  not,  although  the  ice 
was  wholly  different  from  that  of  Smith  Sound,  owing 
to  the  condition  of  the  schooner's  bows,  strike  it  with 
safety.  Luckily  the  wind  favored  us,  and  the  schooner 
answering  her  helm  promptly,  we  managed  to  avoid 
the  floes  for  about  twelve  hours,  at  least  without  a 
thump  of  any  serious  consequence,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  the  wind  had  fallen  to  calm ;  and  this  continuing 
for  some  time,  with  the  temperature  several  degrees 
below  freezing,  new  ice  was  formed  more  than  half  an 
inch  thick,  all  over  the  sea. 

A  light  and  fair  breeze  springing  up  again,  we  were 
once  more  under  way,  crunching  through  this  crystal 
sheet  much  to  the  damage  of  the  schooner's  sides, 
where  there  was  no  iron,  and  very  embarrassing  to 
our  progress,  for  we  were  often  absolutely  stuck  fast. 
We  were  glad  enough  when  the  breeze  stiffened  and 
knocked  the  ice  to  pieces,  giving  us  a  free  passage 
into  the  "East  Water." 

We  made  land  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  and 
found  it  to  be  the  Horse's  Head.  The  pack  was  now 
far  behind  us,  and  our  southern  passage  through  Mel- 


442  NEWS  FROM   HOME. 

ville  Bay  had  been  made  in  about  five  hours  less  time 
than  our  northern. 

From  the  Horse's  Head  we  jogged  on  through  a 
foggy  atmosphere  with  occasional  thick  squalls  of 
snow  and  light  variable  winds,  until  after  three  days' 
groping  we  found  ourselves  again  at  anchor  in  Uper- 
navik  harbor. 

While  the  chain  was  yet  clicking  in  the  hawse-hole, 
an  old  Dane,  dressed  in  seal-skins,  and  possessing  a, 
small  stock  of  English  and  a  large  stock  of  articles  to 
trade,  pulled  off  to  us  with  an  Esquimau  crew,  and, 
with  little  ceremony,  clambered  over  the  gangway. 
Knorr  met  him,  and,  without  any  ceremony  at  all,  de- 
manded the  news. 

"  Oh  !  dere  's  plenty  news." 

"  Out  with  it,  man  !     What  is  it  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  de  Sout'  States  dey  go  agin  de  Nort'  States, 
and  dere  's  plenty  fight." 

I  heard  the  answer,  and,  wondering  what  strange 
complication  of  European  politics  had  kindled  another 
Continental  war,  called  this  Polar  Eumseus  to  the 
quarter-deck.  Had  he  any  news  from  America  ? 

"  Oh !  't  is  'merica  me  speak  !  De  Sout'  States,  you 
see  ?  dey  go  agin  de  Nort'  States,  you  see  ?  and 
dere  's  plenty  fight ! " 

Yes,  I  did  see !  but  I  did  not  believe  that  he  told 
the  truth,  and  awaited  the  letters  which  I  knew  must 
have  come  out  with  the  Danish  vessel,  and  which 
were  immediately  sent  for  to  the  Government-House. 

It  proved  that  letters  had  been  brought  for  us 
by  our  old  friend,  Dr.  Rudolph,  who  had  returned  a 
few  weeks  before  from  Copenhagen,  and  who  kindly 
brought  them  aboard  himself  as  soon  as  he  knew  of 
our  arrival,  and  almost  before  my  messenger  had 
reached  the  shore. 


THE   REBELLION.  443 

These  and  some  files  of  papers,  and  the  Doctor's 
memory,  gave  us  the  leading  occurrences  which  had 
taken  place  at  home  up  to  near  the  end  of  March, 
1861.  We  learned  of  the  inauguration  of  the  new 
President  and  of  the  leading  events  following  his  elec- 
tion, but  of  the  startling  incidents  of  a  later  period 
we  were  ignorant.  We  could  not  apprehend  that  war 
had  actually  broken  out.  We  knew  only  of  the  in- 
trigues for  a  division  of  the  States  and  of  the  acts 
looking  to  that  design.  We  learned  that  suspicion  on 
the  one  hand,  and  treason  on  the  other,  ruled  the 
hour ;  that  threats  of  violence  and  irresolute  counsels 
had  thrown  society  into  a  ferment ;  and  that  the  na- 
tional safety  was  imperiled  ;  but  we  knew  not  of  the 
firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  nor  of  the  bloody  wound 
which  the  Nation  had  received  at  Bull  Run ;  nor  that 
a  vast  army  for  the  protection  of  the  Capital  and  the 
defense  of  the  Government  was  then  growing  up  on 
the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  We  little  thought,  that  in 
every  city,  and  town,  and  hamlet,  the  occupations  of 
peace  had  already  given  place  to  the  passionate  ex- 
citements of  war ;  that  a  cry  of  indignation  and 
anger  had  gone  up  throughout  the  land  against  men 
who,  pledged  to  protect  the  national  flag  and  the  na- 
tional name,  had  abandoned  and  repudiated  them ;  or, 
that  under  the  banner  jof  States'  rights  and  under  the 
impulse  of  ambition,  a  powerful  party  had  boldly  bid 
defiance  to  the  Federal  power  and  declared  their  pur- 
pose to  break  the  Federal  compact.  And,  even  had 
we  heard  these  things,  it  would  have  been  difficult  for 
us  to  have  thus  suddenly  realized  that,  in  a  single 
year,  human  folly  and  human  madness  had  so  com- 
pletely got  the  better  of  right  and  reason. 

I  occupied  myself  while  the  schooner  lay  at  Uper- 


414    LIBERALITY   OF  THE  DANISH   GOVERNMENT. 

navik  with  visiting  a  magnificent  glacier  nine  miles 
wide,  which  discharges  into  a  fiord  named  Aukpadla- 
tok,  about  forty  miles  from  the  town.  Near  this  gla- 
cier there  is  a  hunting-station  of  the  same  name 
which  is  superintended  by  a  Dane,  called  Philip,  who 
lives  there  in  the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  plenty,  with 
an  Esquimau  wife  and  a  large  family  of  children, 
among  whom  are  four  full-grown  half-breed  boys, — 
the  best  hunters,  I  was  told,  north  of  Proven.  My 
surveys  detained  me  several  days  at  Philip's  hut,  and, 
before  I  left,  I  had  made  full  arrangements  with  him- 
self and  his  seal-skin-coated  boys  and  his  wife  and 
daughters,  to  make  sledges,  for  which  I  gave  them 
abundant  materials,  and  fur-clothing,  and  skin-lines; 
and  I  engaged  them  to  rear  and  accumulate  dogs 
for  me,  that  I  might  be  well  supplied  when  I  came 
back  the  next  year. 

After  leaving  Upernavik,  light  and  baffling  winds 
kept  us  at  our  old  trade  of  dodging  the  icebergs  for 
four  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  we  were  at  an- 
chor in  Goodhaven,  and  I  was  enjoying,  as  I  was  sure 
to  do,  the  courteous  hospitality  of  my  old  friend,  In- 
spector Olrik. 

This  settlement  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of 
Disco  Island,  and  takes  its  name  from  the  excellence 
of  the  harbor,  which  is  completely  land-locked.  It  is 
the  principal  colony  of  North  Greenland,  and,  being 
the  residence  of  the  Viceroy -or  Royal  Inspector,  has 
attached  to  it  an  air  of  importance  not  belonging  to 
the  other  stations. 

Mr.  Olrik  exhibited  to  me  an  order  from  his  Gov- 
ernment, commanding  the  Greenland  officials  to  give 
attention  to  my  requirements,  and  offering  me  at  the 
same  time  as  well  his  official  as  personal  good  offices. 


LEAVING   GREENLAND.  445 

Being  on  my  way  home,  I  had  little  occasion  to  avail 
myself  of  this  gracious  act  of  the  Danish  Govern- 
ment ;  but  I  informed  the  Inspector  of  my  future 
purposes  and  signified  to  him  my  desire  to  avail  my- 
self of  its  privileges  next  year.  I  am  glad  of  an  op- 
portunity publicly  to  express  my  admiration  of  the 
conduct  of  the  Danish  Government  toward  the  Arctic 
expeditions  of  whatever  nationality ;  and  in  my  own 
case  it  was  the  more  personally  gratifying,  and  the 
more  highly  appreciated,  that  I  had  no  "Depart- 
ment "  orders  wherewith  to  back  up  my  claims  to 
consideration. 

From  the  Chief  Trader,  Mr.  Anderson,  as  well  as 
from  the  Inspector,  I  had  much  kindly  assistance  in 
perfecting  my  collections  and  in  completing  my  series 
of  photographic  views,  and  I  found  myself  so  agree- 
ably as  well  as  profitably  occupied  that  I  was  truly 
loath  to  quit  the  good  harbor ;  but  it  was  necessary 
for  me  to  be  hastening  home,  as  the  nights  were 
growing  dark,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  be  caught  among 
the  icebergs  without  some  sunlight  to  guide  me ;  so, 
when  the  first  fine  wind  came,  I  huddled  my  col- 
lections aboard,  bade  good-by,  saluted  the  Danish 
ensign  for  the  last  time,  and- — well,  we  did  over 
again  what  we  had  done  a  dozen  times  before  —  dove 

C 

into  a  villainous  fog-bank,  out  of  which  came  a  rush 
of  wind  that  sent  us  homeward  a  little  faster  than 
we  cared  to  go. 

It  was  a  regular  equinoctial  storm,  and,  from  the 
time  of  leaving  Disco  until  we  had  passed  Newfound- 
land, it  scarcely  once  relaxed  its  grip  of  us.  We 
were  blown  out  through  Davis  Strait  even  more 
fiercely  than  we  had  been  blown  in.  At  one  time  we 
were  beset  with  a  perfect  hurricane,  and  how  the 


448  FLYING  BEFORE  THE  GALE. 

schooner  staggered  through  it  was  little  short  of  a 
miracle.  Ulysses  could  hardly  have  had  a  worse 
dusting,  when  his  stupid  crew  let  loose  all  the  winds 
which  jEolus  had  so  kindly  bagged  up  for  him. 
Every  stitch  of  canvas  was  ripped  up  but  the  little 
rag  of  a  top-sail,  under  which  we  scudded  before  the 
gale  through  four  days,  running  down  in  one  four-and- 
twenty  hours  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles  of  lati- 
tude. The  seas  which  came  tumbling  after  us,  each 
one  seemingly  determined  to  roll  over  the  poop,  were 
perfectly  frightful ;  especially  when  one  looked  aloft 
and  saw  the  little  patch  of  canvas  threatening  every 
moment  to  give  way,  and  heard  the  waters  gurgling 
under  the  counter  as  the  stern  went  down  and  the 
bows  went  up,  while  a  very  Niagara  was  roaring  and 
curveting  after  us,  as  if  maddened  with  defeat,  and 
with  each  new  effort  the  more  determined  to  catch 
the  craft  before  she  should  mount  the  crest  ahead. 
But  she  slipped  from  under  every  threatening  danger 
as  gracefully,  if  not  as 

"  Swift,  as  an  eagle  cleaving  the  liquid  air," 

and,  leaving  the  parted  billows  foaming  and  roaring 
behind  her,  passed  on  triumphant  and  unharmed. 

When  off  Labrador,  the  wind  hauled  suddenly  to 
the  westward,  and  we  had  to  give  up  the  chase,  and 
get  the  schooner's  head  to  it.  McCormick  had  man- 
aged to  patch  up  the  foresail,  and,  getting  a  triangu- 
lar piece  of  it  rigged  for  a  storm-sail,  we  proposed 
to  heave  her  to.  There  did  not  appear  to  be  much 
chance  of  a  successful  termination  to  this  new  ven- 
ture, but  it  was  clearly  this  or  nothing.  The  sail  was 
set  and  the  determination  come  to  just  in  time,  for  we 
shipped  a  terrible  sea  over  the  quarter,  the  schooner 


CRIPPLED  BY  THE   STORM.  447 

gave  a  lurch  to  leeward,  and  then  righted  so  suddenly 
that  the  little  topsail  which  had  done  us  such  good 
service  went  into  ribbons,  the  top-mast  cracked  off  at 
the  cap,  and  crash  went  the  jib-boom  right,  away 
afterward.  "  Hard  a-lee  ! "  was  rather  a  melancholy 
sort  of  order  to  give  under  the  circumstances,  and,  as 
was  to  be  expected,  when  the  helm  went  down  we 
were  thrown  into  the  trough  of  the  next  sea,  where 
we  were  caught  amidships  by  the  ugliest  wave  that  I 
ever  happened  to  look  upon,  and  down  it  thundered 
upon  us,  staving  in  the  bulwarks,  sweeping  the  decks 
from  stem  to  stern,  and  carrying  every  thing  over- 
board, our  water-casks  included.  The  schooner  shiv- 
ered all  over  as  if  every  rib  in  her  little  body  was 
broken,  and  for  a  moment  I  felt  sure  that  she  was 
knocked  over  on  her  beam  ends;  but  the  craft 
seemed  to  possess  more  lives  than  a  cat,  and,  right- 
ing in  an  instant,  shook  herself  free  of  the  water, 
took  the  next  wave  on  the  bow,  rose  to  it  nobly,  and 
then  shot  squarely  into  the  wind's  eye.  "  Bravely 
done,  little  lady ! "  was  McCormick's  caressing  ap- 
proval of  her  good  behavior. 

We  lay  hove  to  for  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  we  found  ourselves  drifted  from  our  course  two 
hundred  miles.  Meanwhile,  there  had  been  a  good 
deal  of  alarm  caused  by  the  loss  of  our  water-casks. 
We  had  an  extra  cask  or  so  in  the  hold,  but  these 
could  not  be  got  up  without  removing  the  main- 
hatch,  an  effort  not  to  be  thought  of,  as  the  decks 
were  flooded  and  the  vessel  would  be  swamped ;  so  I 
at  once  set  myself  to  work  to  remedy  the  evil,  and 
succeeded  perfectly.  With  a  tea-kettle  for  a  retort 
and  a  barrel  for  a  condenser,  I  managed  to  distil  water 
enough  for  the  entire  ship's  company;  and,  in  less 


448  RECEPTION  IN  HALIFAX. 

than  three  hours  after  the  disaster,  all  alarm  vanished 
when  it  was  known  that  a  stream  of  pure  water  was 
trickling  from  this  novel  contrivance  in  the  officers' 
cabin,  at  the  rate  of  ten  gallons  a  day. 

The  damaged  condition  of  the  schooner  compelled 
us,  when  off  Nova  Scotia,  to  make  a  port  as  speedily 
as  possible,  and  accordingly  we  put  into  Halifax.  Our 
reception  there  was  most  gratifying,  and  among  a 
people  famed  for  hospitality  we  had  abundant  reason 
to  rejoice  over  the  ill  winds  which  had  blown  us  so 
much  good.  The  admiral  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty's 
fleet,  then  in  Halifax  Harbor,  generously  tendered  the 
use  of  the  Government  conveniences  for  repairing  my 
crippled  vessel ;  and  from  the  officers  of  Her  Majes- 
ty's civil  service  and  of  the  squadron  and  garrison  ; 
from  the  Mayor  and  many  other  citizens  of  Halifax,  — 
most  especially  from  the  Medical  Society,  —  the  Expe- 
dition received  attentions  which  exhibited  not  less  a 
friendliness  of  disposition  for  ourselves  than  respect 
for  the  flag  under  which  our  explorations  had  been 
made. 

Up  to  the  time  of  our  arrival  at  Halifax  we  had,  of 
course,  no  further  news  than  what  reached  us  at  Uper- 
navik.  We  had  scarcely  dropped  our  anchor  before  a 
a  citizen  of  the  town  and  a  countryman  of  my  own, 
neither  of  whom  was  long  a  stranger  to  my  friendship 
or  my  gratitude,  hurried  off  to  give  us  greetings,  and 
to  bring  the  news.  They  had  picked  up  some  files  of 
New  York  papers  on  the  way,  and  we  soon  learned  of 
the  terrible  struggle  that  had  been  going  on  for  many 
months.  Although  not  wholly  unprepared  for  this  by 
the  intelligence  received  at  Upernavik,  yet  we  had 
confidently  cherished  the  expectation  that  hostilities 
had  been  averted  by  wise  and  prudent  counsellors. 


ARRIVAL  IN   BOSTON.  449 

The  shock  was  to  us  such  as  those  who  had  watched 
at  home  the  progress  of  events  from  day  to  day  could 
perhaps  hardly  realize.  The  first  intelligence  I  had 
of  the  war  was  the  account  of  the  Bull  Run  battle, 
next  I  heard  of  the  firing  on  Sumter,  and  then  of 
the  riots  in  Baltimore,  and  the  destruction  of  Nor- 
folk Navy -Yard,  and  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry ; 
and  then  followed  an  account  of  the  universal  arming 
and  volunteering. 

We  remained  at  Halifax  not  longer  than  was  neces- 
sary to  complete  the  repairs  of  the  schooner,  when  we 
again  put  to  sea,  and  in  four  days  made  the  Boston 
Lights.  We  picked  up  a  pilot  out  of  the  thickest  fog 
that  I  have  ever  seen  south  of  -the  Arctic  Circle,  and 
with  a  light  wind  stood  into  the  harbor.  As  the  night 
wore  on  the  wind  fell  away  almost  to  calm  ;  the  fog 
thickened  more  and  more,  if  that  were  possible,  as  we 
sagged  along  over  the  dead  waters  toward  the  an- 
chorage. The  night  was  filled  with  an  oppressive 
gloom.  The  lights  hanging  at  the  mast-heads  of  the 
vessels  which  we  passed  had  the  ghastly  glimmer  of 
tapers  burning  in  a  charnel-house.  We  saw  no  vessel 
moving  but  our  own,  and  even  those  which  lay  at  an- 
chor seemed  like  phantom  ships  floating  in  the  murky 
air.  I  never  saw  the  ship's  company  so  lifeless,  or  so 
depressed  even  in  times  of  real  danger. 

The  sun  was  beginning  to  pour  into  the  atmosphere 
a  dim  light  when  we  let  go  our  anchor ;  but  it  did  not 
seem  that  we  were  at  home,  or  that  a  great  city  lay 
near  by.  No  one  was  anxious  to  go  ashore.  It  ap- 
peared as  if  each  one  anticipated  some  personal  mis- 
fortune, and  wished  to  postpone  the  shock  foreboded 
by  his  fears.  I  landed  on  Long  Wharf,  and  found  my 
way  into  State  Street.  Two  or  three  figures  were 

29 


450  REALIZATION   OF  THE   REBELLION. 

moving  through  the  thick  vapors,  and  their  solemn 
foot-fall  broke  the  worse  than  Arctic  stillness.  I 
reached  Washington  Street,  and  walked  anxiously 
westward.  A  news-boy  passed  me.  I  seized  a  paper, 
and  the  first  thing  which  caught  my  eye  was  the  ac- 
count of  the  Ball's  Bluff  battle,  in  which  had  fallen 
many  of  the  noblest  sons  of  Boston  ;  and  it  seemed 
as  if  the  very  air  had  shrouded  itself  in  mourning  for 
them,  and  that  the  heavens  wept  tears  for  the  city's 
slain. 

I  was  wending  my  way  to  the  house  of  a  friend, 
but  I  thought  it  likely  that  he  was  not  there.  I  felt 
like  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  and  yet  every  object 
which  I  passed  was  familiar.  Friends,  country,  every 
thing  seemed  swallowed  up  in  some  vast  calamity, 
and,  doubtful  and  irresolute,  I  turned  back  sad  and 
dejected,  and  found  my  way  on  board  again  through 
the  dull,  dull  fog. 

The  terrible  reality  was  now  for  the  first  time  pres- 
ent to  my  imagination.  The  land  which  I  had  left  in 
the  happy  enjoyment  of  peace  and  repose  was  already 
drenched  with  blood ;  a  great  convulsion  had  come  to 
scatter  the  old  landmarks  of  the  national  Union,  and 
the  country  which  I  had  known  before  could  be  the 
same  no  more.  Mingled  with  these  reflections  were 
thoughts  of  my  own  career.  To  abandon  my  pur- 
suits ;  to  give  up  a  project  in  which  I  had  expended  so 
much  time  and  means ;  to  have  nipped,  as  it  were,  in 
the  very  bud,  a  work  upon  which  I  had  set  my  heart, 
and  to  which  I  had  already  given  all  the  early  years 
of  my  manhood ;  to  sacrifice  all  the  hopes  and  all  the 
ambitions  which  had  encouraged  me  through  toil  and 
danger,  with  the  promise  of  the  fame  to  follow  the 
successful  completion  of  a  great  object ;  to  abandon  an 


THE  DETERMINATION.  451 

anterprise  in  which  I  had  aspired  to  win  for  myself  an 
honorable  place  among  the  men  who  have  illustrated 
their  country's  history  and  shed  lustre  upon  their  coun- 
try's flag,  were  thoughts  which  first  seriously  crossed 
my  mind  while  returning  on  board,  carrying  in  my 
hand  the  bloody  record  of  Ball's  Bluff  In  the  face  of 
the  startling  intelligence  which  had  crowded  upon  me 
since  reaching  Halifax,  and  which  had  now  culminat- 
ed ;  in  the  face  of  the  duty  which  every  man  owes,  in 
his  own  person,  to  his  country  when  his  country  is  in 
peril,  I  could  not  hesitate.  Before  I  had  reached  my 
cabin,  while  our  friends  were  yet  in  ignorance  of  our 
presence  in  the  bay,  I  had  resolved  to  postpone  the 
execution  of  the  task  with  which  I  had  charged  my- 
self; and  I  closed  as  well  the  cruise  as  the  project,  by 
writing  a  letter  to  the  President,  asking  for  immediate 
employment  in  the  public  service,  and  offering  my 
schooner  to  the  government  for  a  gun-boat. 


Five  years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  schooner 
United  States  crept  to  anchorage  through  the  murky 
vapors  of  Boston  Harbor.  The  terrible  struggle  then 
first  realized  by  me,  as  at  hand,  is  now  over,  and  has 
become  an  event  of  history.  The  destinies  of  individ- 
uals are  ever  subordinate  to  the  public  weal ;  and  in 
the  presence  of  great  social  and  political  revolutions, 
when  ideas  are  fringed  with  bayonets,  and  great  inter- 
ests are  in  conflict,  men  have  little  leisure  for  the  con- 
sideration of  questions  of  science,  or  of  remote  projects 
unconnected  with  the  national  safety. 

Therefore  it  is  that  the  further  exploration  of  the 
Arctic  regions  was  lost  sight  of  by  me  during  the  past 


452  PLANS   POSTPONED,  NOT   ABANDONED. 

few  years.  The  facilities  which  I  had  acquired,  and 
the  advantages  which  I  had  gained,  have  been  in  a 
great  measure  sacrificed  since  ray  return  to  Boston 
in  October,  1861,  and  I  cannot  therefore  speak  with 
confidence  as  to  the  time  when  the  exploration  will  be 
renewed.  The  scheme  has  not,  however,  been  aban- 
doned, nor  are  my  views  in  any  respect  changed.  I 
still  contemplate  the  execution  of  my  original  design, 
and  hope  at  an  early  day  to  carry  into  effect  the  plan 
of  discovery  indicated  in  the  concluding  chapters  of 
this  narrative.  It  is  still  my  wish  to  found  at  Port 
Foulke  such  a  colony  as  I  have  hitherto  described, 
and,  with  a  corps  of  scientific  associates,  to  make  that 
the  centre  of  a  widely  extended  system  of  exploration. 
The  value  of  such  a  centre  will  be  evident  to  every  in- 
structed mind  without  illustration,  and  the  availability 
of  the  situation  is  shown  by  the  experience  of  my  own 
party.  The  project  has  the  more  interest  at  this  time 
in  connection  with  the  effort  by  way  of  the  Spitzber- 
gen  Sea,  contemplated  by  the  Prussian  government, 
the  inception  of  which  is  due  to  the  eminent  geogra- 
pher, Dr.  Augustus  Petermann.  As  with  my  own  en- 
terprise, that  of  Dr.  Petermann  has  temporarily  given 
place  to  the  necessities  of  war ;  but  I  have  been  in- 
formed that  the  expedition  is  contemplated  for  the 
coming  spring.  The  organization  of  this  expedition  is 
founded  upon,  I  think,  a  correct  assumption  that  the 
Open  Sea  and  the  North  Pole  may  be  reached  with 
steam-vessels  by  pushing  through  the  ice-belt  to  the 
west  and  north  of  Spitzbergen.  This  route  possesses 
some  advantages  over  that  of  Smith  Sound,  while  it 
has  some  disadvantages.  The  temporary  colonization 
at  Port  Foulke  gives  to  the  Smith  Sound  route  its 
chief  claim  over  the  other,  to  the  consideration  of  the 
explorer. 


ADVANTAGES   OF   ARCTIC  EXPLORATION.        453 

It  is  not  needful  that  I  should  here  demonstrate 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  continuation  of 
the  line  of  exploration  which  I  have  indicated ;  —  the 
age  in  which  we  live  has  too  much  profited  by  re- 
searches into  every  department  of  science,  which,  not 
immediately  prosecuted  with  the  view  to  practical  ad- 
vantage, have,  by  a  steady  enlargement  of  the  bound- 
aries of  human  knowledge,  promoted  the  interests  of 
commerce,  of  navigation,  of  the  arts,  and  of  every 
thing  which  concerns  the  convenience  and  the  com- 
fort and  the  well-being  of  mankind.  In  truth,  civili- 
zation has  profited  most  by  those  discoveries  which 
possessed  at  the  outset  only  an  abstract  value,  and 
excited  no  interest  beyond  the  walls  of  the  academy. 
The  vast  system  of  steam  communication,  which 
weaves  around  the  world  its  endless  web  of  industry, 
began  in  the  apparently  useless  experiments  of  a 
thoughtful  boy  with  the  lid  of  his  mother's  tea-kettle ; 
that  wonderful  net-work  of  wires  which  spreads  over 
the  continents  and  underlies  the  seas,  and  along  which 
the  thoughts  of  men  fly  as  with  the  wings  of  light, 
results  from  the  accidental  touching  of  two  pieces  of 
metal  in  the  mouth  of  Volta ;  the  lenses  of  the  mam- 
moth telescope  of  Lord  Rosse,  which  reduced  to  prac- 
tical uses  the  celestial  mechanism,  came  from  observ- 
ing the  magnifying  powers  of  a  globule  of  water ;  the 
magnetic  needle  which  guides  the  navies  of  the  world 
to  their  distant  destinations,  succeeds  the  casual  con- 
tact of  a  piece  of  loadstone  and  a  bit  of  steel :  every- 
where, indeed,  we  witness  the  same  constant  growth 
from  what  seemed  unprofitable  beginnings  ;  —  the 
printing-press,  the  loom,  the  art  of  solar  painting,  all 
sprang  from  the  one  same  source,  —  from  minds  intent 
only  upon  interrogating  Nature,  and  revealing  hei 


454  CONCLUSION. 

mysteries,  without  knowledge  of  the  good  to  come 
therefrom.  The  progress  of  scientific  discovery  is  in- 
deed the  progress  of  the  human  race,  and  the  question, 
Cui  bono  ?  is  now  no  longer  asked  of  him  who  would 
reveal  hidden  truths.  Wherever  men  have  sought 
wider  fields  of  gain,  or  power,  or  usefulness,  there  has 
been  science  in  the  midst  of  them,  —  guiding,  sup- 
porting, and  instructing  them.  Wherever  men  have 
sought  to  plant,  among  barbarous  peoples,  the  emblem 
of  the  only  true  religion,  there  has  she  gone  before, — 
opening  the  gates  and  smoothing  the  pathway.  She 
has  lifted  the  curtain  of  ignorance  from  the  human 
mind,  and  Christianity,  following  her  advancing  foot- 
steps, has  banished  from  the  West  the  ancient  super- 
stitions, and  the  dark  Pantheism  of  the  East  and  the 
Fetich  worship  of  the  savage  tribes  are  passing  away. 
The  light  of  science  and  the  gospel  of  our  Christian 
faith  have  moved  hand  in  hand  together  through  the 
world,  and,  overriding  the  barriers  of  custom,  have, 
with  unselfish  zeal,  steadily  unfolded  to  the  human 
understanding  the  material  interests  which  concern 
this  life,  and  to  the  human  soul  the  sacred  truths  of 
Revelation  which  concern  the  life  to  come. 


' 


